---
product_id: 492968555
title: "The World: A Family History"
price: "€ 32.57"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.pt/products/492968555-the-world-a-family-history
store_origin: PT
region: Portugal
---

# Global family history lens Award-winning bestseller status Epic 950,000-year human saga The World: A Family History

**Price:** € 32.57
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🌟 Unlock the world’s untold family saga — history like you’ve never experienced it before!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The World: A Family History
- **How much does it cost?** € 32.57 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pt](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/492968555-the-world-a-family-history)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Rich Thematic Depth:** Explore war, migration, innovation, and culture through a uniquely personal narrative.
- • **Epic Human Storytelling:** Trace humanity’s journey from prehistory to today through the families that shaped the world.
- • **Diverse Cast of Characters:** From emperors to artists, discover the intimate stories behind history’s most influential families.
- • **Addictive & Thought-Provoking:** A gripping read that reshapes your worldview and connects you to the human drama across centuries.
- • **Globally Renowned & Acclaimed:** Celebrated by The Times, The Economist, and Sunday Times as a top history book of the year.

## Overview

The World: A Family History is a bestselling, award-winning narrative by Simon Sebag Montefiore that chronicles humanity’s story from 950,000 years ago to the present through the lens of influential families. Blending intimate character portraits with grand historical themes, it offers a richly detailed, addictive account of global history that has captivated over a thousand readers with a 4.4-star rating.

## Description

THE TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF THE ECONOMIST 'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER From the master storyteller and internationally bestselling author - the story of humanity from prehistory to the present day, told through the one thing all humans have in common: family. We begin with the footsteps of a family walking along a beach 950,000 years ago. From here, Montefiore takes us on an exhilarating epic journey through the families that have shaped our world: the Caesars, Medicis and Incas, Ottomans and Mughals, Bonapartes, Habsburgs and Zulus, Rothschilds, Rockefellers and Krupps, Churchills, Kennedys, Castros, Nehrus, Pahlavis and Kenyattas, Saudis, Kims and Assads. A rich cast of complex characters form the beating heart of the story. Some are well-known leaders, from Alexander the Great, Attila, Ivan the Terrible and Genghis Khan to Hitler, Thatcher, Obama, Putin and Zelensky. Some are creative, from Socrates, Michelangelo and Shakespeare to Newton, Mozart, Balzac, Freud, Bowie and Tim Berners-Lee. Others are lesser-known: Hongwu, who began life as a beggar and founded the Ming dynasty; Kamehameha, conqueror of Hawaii; Zenobia, Arab empress who defied Rome; King Henry of Haiti; Lady Murasaki, first female novelist; Sayyida al-Hurra, Moroccan pirate-queen. Here are not just conquerors and queens but prophets, charlatans, actors, gangsters, artists, scientists, doctors, tycoons, lovers, wives, husbands and children. This is world history on the most grand and intimate scale - spanning centuries, continents and cultures, and linking grand themes of war, migration, plague, religion, medicine and technology to the people at the centre of the human drama. As spellbinding as fiction , The World captures the story of humankind in all its joy, sorrow, romance, ingenuity and cruelty in a ground-breaking, single narrative that will forever shift the boundaries of what history can achieve.

Review: Great read - A superbly organized, energetic, humane, gripping chronicle of the human race ... No enquiring mind can afford to do without this book. Sebag Montefiore shows off his best talent : blending human virtues and evils together in a stormy, addictive painting. The product of a generous and humane sensibility, this timeless account makes intelligible the full span of human history through the families that moved the world. He paints a colourful picture of wars and conquests; of grand visions, of the advances and limitations of rulers; of remarkable people and mostly remarkable families. This is a text dominated not by dates and facts, but by the sweep of mankind’s experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity’s achievements and an acute witness to its frailties. Sebag Montefiore takes us through the psychology of the great rulers with both meticulous intimacy and grand theatrical sensibility. He sketches personalities so vividly that it is very difficult to let go of his writing. I would recommend not having anything important to do while reading this book. It is highly addictive.
Review: Great but some errors (possibly mistakes when book was formatted to Kindle) - Good book, well researched as is always the case with anything written by Simon Sebag-Montefiore. However, some appalling research gaps/typos (? - possibly Kindle formatting errors - ?) - e.g. we are told that Lord Mountbatten was assassinated in 1981 when it was in fact IN 1979, and that Donald Trump assumed the US Presidency in 2019 when it was in fact IN 2017. Book is also very rushed as it gets closer to the end, as if Mr Sebag-Montefiore wanted to cram in events of the last 25 years and had only so many more pages in which to do it. As an overall work, great, and once you see the relationships between people that spring up throughout your world-view will either be altered/confirmed. But, beware of the style and pacing as the book progresses

## Features

- New Store Stock

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | 10,104 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 19 in Women in History 29 in History of Civilisation & Culture 137 in Social & Cultural History |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,262 Reviews |

## Images

![The World: A Family History - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81f-9xt8kBL.jpg)

## Available Options

This product comes in different **Media Language, Media Format** options.

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great read
*by M***E on 3 November 2022*

A superbly organized, energetic, humane, gripping chronicle of the human race ... No enquiring mind can afford to do without this book. Sebag Montefiore shows off his best talent : blending human virtues and evils together in a stormy, addictive painting. The product of a generous and humane sensibility, this timeless account makes intelligible the full span of human history through the families that moved the world. He paints a colourful picture of wars and conquests; of grand visions, of the advances and limitations of rulers; of remarkable people and mostly remarkable families. This is a text dominated not by dates and facts, but by the sweep of mankind’s experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity’s achievements and an acute witness to its frailties. Sebag Montefiore takes us through the psychology of the great rulers with both meticulous intimacy and grand theatrical sensibility. He sketches personalities so vividly that it is very difficult to let go of his writing. I would recommend not having anything important to do while reading this book. It is highly addictive.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great but some errors (possibly mistakes when book was formatted to Kindle)
*by T***Z on 12 March 2026*

Good book, well researched as is always the case with anything written by Simon Sebag-Montefiore. However, some appalling research gaps/typos (? - possibly Kindle formatting errors - ?) - e.g. we are told that Lord Mountbatten was assassinated in 1981 when it was in fact IN 1979, and that Donald Trump assumed the US Presidency in 2019 when it was in fact IN 2017. Book is also very rushed as it gets closer to the end, as if Mr Sebag-Montefiore wanted to cram in events of the last 25 years and had only so many more pages in which to do it. As an overall work, great, and once you see the relationships between people that spring up throughout your world-view will either be altered/confirmed. But, beware of the style and pacing as the book progresses

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ WOW !
*by S***S on 25 January 2023*

The human race is not very nice at all. Simon has written a massive book on the history of the world, its a sort of horrible histories for adults. We are a nasty, horrid, murdering, blood thirsty race only interested in land acquisition and power and rape of the lands and people for financial gain and nothing will stand in our way. Nepotism, Machiavellian, despots, dictators, kings and queens, servants and slaves and revolutionaries . And as for the women, blimey ! Its all there and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and learnt so much, history lessons at school were never this interesting or fun if you can call it fun. (there is wry humour in it) The sort of book to read while cringing and saying urgh quite a lot and it's sad to say the human race still has much to learn from the past. Thank you Simon its a wonderful book well researched and as always you write so well, I'll be buying more copies to give as gifts but I'm glad to say my copy was on kindle which I think was much more manageable. So what next Simon? how do you top that?

## Frequently Bought Together

- The World: A Family History
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*Product available on Desertcart Portugal*
*Store origin: PT*
*Last updated: 2026-09-10*