Review of the UK edition: "The authors have put as much effort into the design as the data and their book is meant to entertain as much as to inform." -- The Economist The Infographic History of the World starts at the dawn of time and launches into a 13.8 billion-year journey. Four sections--In the Beginning, Getting Civilized, Nation Building, and The Modern World--present world history as a visual essay of facts, trends and timelines. It is history done in a new way, a beautifully designed collection of insightful and revealing infographics that tell us where we've been and where we're heading. The book's design cleverly mirrors the content, opening with parchment-like paper stock, primitive typography and no color and progressing to glossy pages, minimalist design and brilliant color. Seventy-four topics, 100 infographics and 224 pages weave a story of civilization and conquest, of war and peace, of science and invention, as well as some of the big issues of the day. When did everything in the universe come into being? - When did the crusaders set sail? - Is religion growing or disappearing? - Which countries are eating all the food, causing all the pollution and taking all the drugs? - Do more guns equal more gun deaths? - What are we dying of and how quickly are we changing? - Will we survive the next millennium? The Infographic History of the World is as entertaining a reference as is possible. It will inspire and inform from its permanent place on the coffee table. It is for all ages and all interests and perfect for a society hooked on instant information. The book is separated into four sections, starting with 'In the Beginning' which almost resembles a Victorian illustrated textbook. 'In the beginning' is all about the beginning of the solar system and evolution... Then we move on to the next section 'Getting Civilised' which keeps a similar style as the first section but moves into the use of color within its illustrations. This part of the book looks at information about what makes man and how we developed as civilised beings, with the development of cultural elements like art, language and music... The third section is 'Nation Building' in this section which is all about the age of empires and the importance they had within history, their military might, scale of rule, exploration and war. The infographics in this section are more developed and far more interesting to look through due to their complexity, also the strength of information is clear and creatively detailed. This is the part of the book where I believe it becomes inspiring as an infographic enthusiast, not to mention it is historically quite interesting. The information is not only more detailed but the style of infographics is more creatively aesthetic... You can see by this point of the book the thought that has gone into this book, as it slowly develops one section at a time. Exploring the progression of the infographics, fine detail and strength of information is interesting as you are experiencing the book evolving, much like the worlds history. The final section 'The Modern World' is vastly different visually to the rest of the book, but far more familiar to the infographics we see in our everyday lives, such as the ones we see in newspapers and business literature. The attractive part of this section is that the information is relevant to modern day so you get that common interest in the information... Something that really interested me about this book is how all of the sections each have their own identity. The style of the artwork noticeably changes from section to section and the tone of each section differs, the start of the book gives a more serious and traditional feel, where towards the end it becomes more fun and light hearted. I think this type of detail truly improves the experience of the book, taking you through a journey through the ages. The beauty of each sections identity is the intro page which showcases a wonderfully creative illustration that sets the tone to each sections journey. I believe the next generation of infographic books can learn a thing or two about how infographics can be used to take you on a journey and not just lay down some facts and vectors in a cold and unimaginative way... Any creative who enjoys infographics should definitely pick this book up and enjoy the journey. (Marco Constantinou Inkfo 2015-09-24) Valentina D'Efilippo and James Ball celebrate the many unique ways that information can be visually shared in this entertaining look at the history of the world.... [They]manage to provide an enormous amount of information by distilling it down to these colourful and highly effective graphics. (Terry Peters North Shore News 2014-02-14) Valentina D'Efilippo is a designer with an interest in data visualization, art direction and interactive design. She studied industrial design in Italy and earned a post-graduate degree in London. James Ball is a multi-award