As an example, he presents Moses, who, at around the same time, led his people to freedom and gave them the Ten Commandments, which he received from God. While conceding the point, Man reminds Scratch that the reverse is also true, that men cannot be great and good unless given the support of his fellows. Scratch proposes that Khufu succeeded in betraying his people because men, in their stupidity, worship villains as heroes. Arguing that man's downfall began almost immediately, Scratch presents as evidence Khufu, an ancient pharaoh of Egypt who sacrificed 100,000 men to build his pyramid of immortality. Man begins by showing how humans developed from solitary animals to communities of people who harnessed fire and developed the wheel. The High Judge instructs Man and Scratch to visit any time or place on Earth to present supporting evidence, adding that their travels will be watched by the tribunal.

Scratch, who arrives with his apprentice, is appointed prosecutor of the case. To present a defense, the Spirit of Man is called and The Devil, Mr. Their agenda is to determine whether to prevent the bomb from detonating or allow it to go off.

Noting that all of mankind will be destroyed if the bomb is detonated, the stars report the news to the High Tribunal of Outer Space, which is then called into session. Merman (1999) covers events up to the late 1990s (ISBN 9780871401755).Two angels, appearing as stars in the heavens, discuss how man has invented the super H-bomb sixty years ahead of schedule. Since van Loon's death in 1944,The Story of Mankind has been added to extensively by his son, Gerrit van Loon. Van Loon explains in the book how he selected what and what not to include by subjecting all materials to the question: Did the person or event in question perform an act without which the entire history of civilization would have been different?Īfter its first edition, Van Loon had another edition published later in the 1920s which included an extra essay, called 'After Seven Years' about the effects of World War I. Written for his children (Hansje and Willem), The Story of Mankind tells in brief chapters the history of western civilization beginning with primitive man, covering the development of writing, art, and architecture, the rise of major religions, and the formation of the modern (for 1921) nation-state. In 1922, it was the first book to be awarded the Newbery Medal for an outstanding contribution to children's literature.

The Story of Mankind was written and illustrated by Dutch-American journalist, professor, and author Hendrik Willem van Loon and published in 1921.

The story of mankind 1921