Fifty Days that Changed the World

by Hywell Williams

On September 28, 480, the Athenian navy destroyed the Persian invasion fleet in the Bay of Salamis. Had the Persians won, such noted figures as Plato, Aristotle, and Alexander along with democracy itself might have been erased from history. This original survey charts 50 such defining and revolutionary moments from the annals of history and shows how the events of a single day can shape the future in a myriad of ways. Some of the events mark the end of an era while others paved the way for something new, and while many are bloody battles, others are momentous decisions or breathtaking discoveries. Together, they are remembered as powerful symbols of their time and pivotal moments in Western history.

• Publish Date: 2008
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Folio Society
• Edition: Folio Society Slipcased
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 308
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

A beautiful book, with 50 well chosen, although as the editor freely admits, subjectively chosen, days that inarguably changed the world.

But the writing was dry, and overly focused on battlefield/military statistics for my personal tastes; I quickly lost track of who did what to whom, and when they did it - especially since the writer(s) often went back and forth in time in an attempt to flesh out events.

I was also surprised by the poor editing; call me naive but I expected better from a Folio Society publication.  Spaces missing between words and sentences that were incomplete or nonsensical did nothing to improve my opinion.  It's not a bad read; it's just not as good as I'd hoped.