Title: Story of the World series
Author: Susan Wise Bauer
Major Themes: World History
Synopsis: This series of books takes you through the entire sweep of world history, from the beginning until 2000.
For the last three years, we have been reading our way through the four books in The Story of the World series. We have taken a lot of side trips, reading other books about the various time periods and events, but these have been our spine for history. I have really enjoyed this journey, and found the books quite interesting—but my children keep telling me the stories are boring. I think it’s just that they aren’t exciting novels.
I found myself rather annoyed with the author through Volume One. I don’t remember the details anymore, but my impression is that she didn’t really believe the Bible. I didn’t find anything I didn’t agree with in the rest of the books, though. One thing that I’m puzzled about is that I’ve heard that “secular homeschoolers” who use The Story of the World want to change some things about the series; I am honestly not sure what they would be changing, unless it’s to delete a few references to Biblical history in Volume One. These books just don’t strike me as overtly Christian!
To read more detail about them, please see the individual reviews on this site.
- Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times
- Story of the World Volume 2: Middle Ages
- Story of the World Volume 3: Early Modern Times
- Story of the World Volume 4: The Modern Age
WARNING: See the individual reviews. Volume 4 talks about a number of wars and the terrorism that began towards the end of the 20th century.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8, 8 – 12
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15
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