A Short History of the World is a non-fictional historic work by English author H. G. Wells, largely inspired by Wells's earlier 1919 work The Outline of History. The book summarises the scientific knowledge of the time regarding the history of Earth and life. It starts with its origins, goes on to explain the development of the Earth and life on Earth, reaching primitive thought and the development of humankind from the Cradle of Civilisation.The book ends with the outcome of the First World War, the Russian famine of 1921, and the League of Nations in 1922. In 1934 Albert Einstein recommended the book for the study of history as a means of interpreting progress in civilisation. - Summary adopted from Wikipedia