Reddit reviews The Penguin History of the World: Sixth Edition
We found 3 Reddit comments about The Penguin History of the World: Sixth Edition. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Penguin Books
There's also "The Penguin History of the World" by J.M. Roberts and Odd Arne Westad. I own it in paperback. It's an absolute brick, like 1,000 pages or so (can't remember exactly how many). It just briefly covers many of the major events in human history. In very general terms, it paints a picture showing how we got to where we are now. Link below:
https://www.amazon.com/Penguin-History-World-Sixth/dp/1846144434
I recently read the "Penguin History of the World" and that one was fantastic. I was assigned it by one of my most respected professors and found it illuminating and easy to follow.
The Penguin History of the World: Sixth Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1846144434/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_K9hyzb7BJBGFV
JM Roberts, Penguin History of the World is probably what your looking for.
https://www.amazon.com/Penguin-History-World-Sixth/dp/1846144434?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
It's Eurocentric and doesn't go into detail on events (almost impossible for a single volume history of the world). Rather, it focuses on major themes throughout history (Colonization, Christianity, Empire, etc...).
It's about as much as one could digest in a single volume (~1100 pages or so). There are much more comprehensive works, but they're multi-volume affairs, not designed for noobs.
Beyond that, if you can narrow it down to a region or time, you'll have a more choices.
I'd recommend
The Great Sea by Abulafia (Mediterranean)
The Fifth Part of the World by Lester (Exploration)
And Peter Wilson has a new history of the Holy Roman Empire out that I haven't read but looks real good. It's called The Heart of Europe. A study of the HRE will give you a good overview of European history from the post Roman Empire dark ages to Age of Napoleon.
Sorry I don't have suggestions for non-European history, I'm sure someone else does. I can tentatively recommend Born in Blood and Fire for Latin\S. American history. I haven't read it but it's highly regarded and seems to be pretty accessible. For Middle East, you might want to try Esposito's History of Islam. No recommendations for Far East.