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This book, written by the famous art historian Gombrich, was warmly welcomed upon publication. The author uses mature and wise writing to condense the thousands of years of human history in this small book, and paints readers with vivid and clear scenes: the simple caves where mammoth hunters live, and the vast waters. The gleaming Acropolis of Athens, the smoky ruins of Carthage, the Roman Colosseum full of male hormones and blood and tears, the shattered Armada, only the ruins of the Old Summer Palace, and the smoke-filled battlefields of World War II. As Gombrich's narration slowly advances, when we realize the existence of history, it is already close before our eyes.