Lists Trending New Immersive
Start free trial
SoBrief

World History

Great powers rise and fall as civilizations clash and transform across the centuries, leaving their mark on everything from trade routes to border walls. Through sweeping narratives and sharp analysis, these books illuminate how empires, ideologies, and innovations have shaped our interconnected world.

World History Book Summaries

World Order Summary
World Order
by Henry Kissinger 2014 420 pages
4.04
14k+ ratings
Politics
History
International Relations
The Cold War Summary
The Cold War
A New History
by John Lewis Gaddis 2005 352 pages
3.95
8k+ ratings
History
Politics
War
Diplomacy Summary
Diplomacy
by Henry Kissinger 1994 912 pages
4.25
9k+ ratings
History
Politics
International Relations
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers Summary
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers
Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000
by Paul Kennedy 1987 677 pages
4.14
6k+ ratings
History
Politics
Economics
The Silk Roads Summary
The Silk Roads
A New History of the World
by Peter Frankopan 2015 656 pages
4.17
49k+ ratings
History
Politics
World History
The Great Divergence Summary
The Great Divergence
China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy
by Kenneth Pomeranz 2000 392 pages
3.68
1k+ ratings
History
Economics
China
The Lessons of History Summary
The Lessons of History
by Will Durant 1968 120 pages
4.05
20k+ ratings
History
Philosophy
Politics
The Twenty Years' Crisis, 1919-1939 Summary
The Twenty Years' Crisis, 1919-1939
An Introduction to the Study of International Relations
by Edward Hallett Carr 1939 244 pages
4.09
1k+ ratings
History
International Relations
Politics
Destiny Disrupted Summary
Destiny Disrupted
A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes
by Tamim Ansary 2009 390 pages
4.40
13k+ ratings
History
Islam
Religion
Empire Summary
Empire
The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power
by Niall Ferguson 2003 384 pages
3.93
9k+ ratings
History
Politics
Economics
Civilization Summary
Civilization
The West and the Rest
by Niall Ferguson 2011 464 pages
3.86
10k+ ratings
History
Politics
Economics
Lost Islamic History Summary
Lost Islamic History
Reclaiming Muslim Civilisation from the Past
by Firas Alkhateeb 2014 217 pages
4.43
3k+ ratings
History
Islam
Religion
Postwar Summary
Postwar
A History of Europe Since 1945
by Tony Judt 2005 933 pages
4.38
13k+ ratings
History
Politics
European History
1493 Summary
1493
Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
by Charles C. Mann 2011 836 pages
4.12
21k+ ratings
History
Science
American History
A Little History of the World Summary
A Little History of the World
by E.H. Gombrich 1936 284 pages
4.10
32k+ ratings
History
World History
Historical
The Wealth and Poverty of Nations Summary
The Wealth and Poverty of Nations
Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor
by David S. Landes 1998 531 pages
3.96
3k+ ratings
Economics
History
Politics
Glimpses of World History Summary
Glimpses of World History
by Jawaharlal Nehru 1934 1193 pages
4.32
2k+ ratings
History
India
World History
Modern Times Summary
Modern Times
The World from the Twenties to the Nineties
by Paul Johnson 1983 880 pages
4.29
2k+ ratings
History
Politics
World History
The March of Folly Summary
The March of Folly
From Troy to Vietnam
by Barbara W. Tuchman 1984 447 pages
4.03
7k+ ratings
History
Politics
War
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World Summary
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
by Jack Weatherford 2004 352 pages
4.07
85k+ ratings
History
Biography
Asia
A Peace to End All Peace Summary
A Peace to End All Peace
The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and The Creation of the Modern Middle East
by David Fromkin 1989 635 pages
4.22
9k+ ratings
History
Middle East
Politics
Plagues and Peoples Summary
Plagues and Peoples
by William H. McNeill 1976 368 pages
3.87
5k+ ratings
History
Science
Medicine
Story of Civilization Summary
Story of Civilization
by Will Durant 1975 14777 pages
4.43
1k+ ratings
History
Philosophy
World History
War and Peace and War Summary
War and Peace and War
The Rise and Fall of Empires
by Peter Turchin 2005 416 pages
4.17
500+ ratings
History
Politics
War
The Republic of Pirates Summary
The Republic of Pirates
Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down
by Colin Woodard 2007 383 pages
3.89
12k+ ratings
History
Pirates
Historical
The Great War for Civilisation Summary
The Great War for Civilisation
The Conquest of the Middle East
by Robert Fisk 2005 1111 pages
4.41
5k+ ratings
History
Middle East
Politics
The Golden Age of Piracy Summary
The Golden Age of Piracy
The Truth Behind Pirate Myths
by Benerson Little 2016 388 pages
3.40
366 ratings
History
Pirates
Research
Age of Revolutions Summary
Age of Revolutions
Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present
by Fareed Zakaria 2024 400 pages
4.18
4k+ ratings
History
Politics
World History
The Emperor Wears No Clothes Summary
The Emperor Wears No Clothes
The Authoritative Historical Record of Cannabis and the Conspiracy Against Marijuana
by Jack Herer 1992 291 pages
4.46
500+ ratings
History
Drugs
Politics
Iran Summary
Iran
A Modern History
by Abbas Amanat 2017 1085 pages
4.23
500+ ratings
History
Iran
Middle East
The Decline and Rise of Democracy Summary
The Decline and Rise of Democracy
A Global History from Antiquity to Today
by David Stasavage 2020 424 pages
3.86
223 ratings
History
Politics
Political Science
World History 101 Summary
World History 101
From Ancient Mesopotamia and the Viking Conquests to NATO and WikiLeaks, an Essential Primer on World History
by Tom Head 2017 256 pages
3.72
500+ ratings
History
World History
Historical
The War That Ended Peace Summary
The War That Ended Peace
The Road to 1914
by Margaret MacMillan 2013 739 pages
4.25
7k+ ratings
History
World War I
War
The Persian Empire Summary
The Persian Empire
by John W.I. Lee 2012
4.10
500+ ratings
History
Ancient History
Middle East
India Summary
India
A History
by John Keay 2000 578 pages
3.93
4k+ ratings
History
India
Asia
The Sea and Civilization Summary
The Sea and Civilization
A Maritime History of the World
by Lincoln Paine 2013 784 pages
3.89
500+ ratings
History
Maritime
World History
Cities Summary
Cities
The First 6,000 Years
by Monica L. Smith 2019 304 pages
3.26
446 ratings
History
Archaeology
Cities
A Brief History of Indonesia Summary
A Brief History of Indonesia
Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation
by Tim Hannigan 2015 288 pages
4.02
1k+ ratings
History
Asia
Travel
A Study of History, Abridgement of Vols 1-6 Summary
A Study of History, Abridgement of Vols 1-6
by Arnold Joseph Toynbee 1947 640 pages
4.10
500+ ratings
History
Philosophy
World History
A Splendid Exchange Summary
A Splendid Exchange
How Trade Shaped the World
by William J. Bernstein 2008 384 pages
4.16
3k+ ratings
History
Economics
Business
A Short History of the World Summary
A Short History of the World
by Christopher Lascelles 2011 241 pages
3.86
1k+ ratings
History
Historical
Ebooks
Blackbeard Summary
Blackbeard
America's Most Notorious Pirate
by Angus Konstam 2006 336 pages
3.55
445 ratings
History
Pirates
Biography
7 Tipping Points That Saved the World Summary
7 Tipping Points That Saved the World
by Chris Stewart 2011 320 pages
3.97
1k+ ratings
History
Historical
Politics
Over the Edge of the World Summary
Over the Edge of the World
Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe
by Laurence Bergreen 2003 458 pages
4.19
19k+ ratings
History
Biography
Adventure
A Short History of the World Summary
A Short History of the World
by H.G. Wells 1922 371 pages
3.86
3k+ ratings
History
Classics
World History
The Return of the Russian Leviathan Summary
The Return of the Russian Leviathan
by Sergei Medvedev 2017 140 pages
4.06
337 ratings
Russia
Politics
History
A Short History of the World in 50 Lies Summary
A Short History of the World in 50 Lies
by Natasha Tidd 2023 288 pages
3.60
1k+ ratings
History
Historical
World History
A History of the Philippines Summary
A History of the Philippines
From Indios Bravos to Filipinos
by Luis H. Francia 2010 352 pages
3.93
500+ ratings
History
Historical
Research
Fire in the Lake Summary
Fire in the Lake
The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam
by Frances FitzGerald 1972 500 pages
4.10
2k+ ratings
History
War
Politics
Europe Summary
Europe
The Struggle for Supremacy from 1453 to the Present
by Brendan Simms 2013 720 pages
3.95
500+ ratings
History
European History
Politics
Home
Search
Swipe
Library
Get App
Create a free account to unlock:
Recommendations: Personalized for you
Requests: Request new book summaries
Bookmarks: Save your favorite books
History: Revisit books later
Ratings: Rate books & see your ratings
600,000+ readers
Try Full Access for 3 Days
Listen, bookmark, and more
Compare Features Free Pro
📖 Read Summaries
Read unlimited summaries. Free users get 3 per month
🎧 Listen to Summaries
Listen to unlimited summaries in 40 languages
 —
❤️ Unlimited Bookmarks
Free users are limited to 4
 —
📜 Unlimited History
Free users are limited to 4
 —
📥 Unlimited Downloads
Free users are limited to 1
 —
Risk-Free Timeline
Today: Get Instant Access
Listen to full summaries of 26,000+ books. That's 12,000+ hours of audio!
Day 2: Trial Reminder
We'll send you a notification that your trial is ending soon.
Day 3: Your subscription begins
You'll be charged on May 23,
cancel anytime before.
Consume 2.8× More Books
2.8× more books Listening Reading
Our users love us
600,000+ readers
Trustpilot Rating
TrustPilot
4.6 Excellent
This site is a total game-changer. I've been flying through book summaries like never before. Highly, highly recommend.
— Dave G
Worth my money and time, and really well made. I've never seen this quality of summaries on other websites. Very helpful!
— Em
Highly recommended!! Fantastic service. Perfect for those that want a little more than a teaser but not all the intricate details of a full audio book.
— Greg M
Save 62%
Yearly
$119.88 $44.99/year/yr
$3.75/mo
Monthly
$9.99/mo
Start a 3-Day Free Trial
3 days free, then $44.99/year. Cancel anytime.
Unlock a world of fiction & nonfiction books
26,000+ books for the price of 2 books
Read any book in 10 minutes
Discover new books like Tinder
Request any book if it's not summarized
Read more books than anyone you know
#1 app for book lovers
Lifelike & immersive summaries
30-day money-back guarantee
Download summaries in EPUBs or PDFs
Cancel anytime in a few clicks
Scanner
Find a barcode to scan

⭐
⭐
⭐
We have a special gift for you
Open
38% OFF
DISCOUNT FOR YOU
⭐
⭐
⭐
$79.99
$49.99/year
only $4.16 per month
Continue
2 taps to start, super easy to cancel
Settings
General
Widget
Loading...
⭐
⭐
⭐
We have a special gift for you
Open
38% OFF
DISCOUNT FOR YOU
⭐
⭐
⭐
$79.99
$49.99/year
only $4.16 per month
Continue
2 taps to start, super easy to cancel