Absolutely Everything; Christopher Lloyd, illustrated by Andy Forshaw

Absolutely Everything is a brilliantly informative read that tells the story of civilisations, science, nature and history from the beginning of the universe to the present day. Christopher Lloyd has done a great job of trying to cover everything and in three hundred and fifty two pages he manages to cover one heck of a lot.

It starts 13.8 billion years ago with how nothing became something and from there, we journey through fifteen chapters that cover some of the most important events that have led to the world as it is today. From dinosaurs to the first humans, the dawn of civilisations to the growth and expansion of empires, to inventions, revolutions and wars. We finish in the present day with wonderings about the future.

The book has been thoroughly researched and I really like the accessible presentation. Timelines are presented at the start of each chapter and provide a welcome overview of what happened and when. The chapters themselves are jam-packed with information and knowledge that can be used to impress friends, teachers and adults. There are plenty of images, photographs and illustrations too and these are accompanied with annotations, captions and labels. The book is peppered throughout with quotes from historians, archaeologists, entomologists, palaeontologists, scientists, astronauts, emperors, explorers and more.

Obviously, nothing is explored in great detail but everything is explored in just enough detail to give you what you need to know - key dates, key information, key people, key places, key animals, key changes. This is what really appeals to me about this book, I wanted a book that gives me a little bit of everything and this does exactly that. Think of this as a smorgasbord of key historical events. If you find you really have the tase for a particular event or period in history then you can go and find a book that will cover that exact thing. This book isn’t designed to cover every event in absolute detail, it is as it says, to give the reader a taste of absolutely everything.

I learnt so much from this book. I like to read a book that educates me and this book did exactly that. It showed me how little I know about the millions and billions of years that have already happened. It is one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and I know that I am a little bit more knowledgeable as a result. It helps joins the dots of history together in such an accessible way and will provide a more than satisfying meal for the most hungry of knowledge-seekers.

Recommended for 9+.