A journey through the evolution of knowledge, communication, and information.

History, as it is often taught, is a list of kings and queens and treaties and events. It presents the what and when, but it rarely asks why.

Why is it that we had kings and queens at all? Why then all of a sudden did we abandon them and shift to democracies? Why did the world’s religions rise around the same time? Why is society dominated by men?

The answers all come down to the same thing: information. The striving to share information, and – at the same time – the striving to undermine it, explains so much of today’s world and connects so many seemingly unconnected things: the rise of religions, states, science, democracy, the west, militarism, racism, fascism, consumerism, big tech, polarization, and AI.

This history of information is closely connected to the history of visual communication – and as these two are largely the same – it makes sense to tell this story visually: a history of graphics told through graphics. The History of Information, through a mix of timelines, graphics, and illustrations, clearly breaks down and explains each concept for children and adults alike.

The History of Information includes:

• A beautiful look at the story of information; from the first languages and cave paintings, through to how we communicate and record information today.
• Content written and illustrated by world famous and multi-award winning author and illustrator, Chris Haughton.
• A global journey throughout history from the origination of language, how information has been passed on and recorded, and how this affected humanity.

*From the author of the multi-million bestselling Sapiens comes an incredible new story of the human race, for younger readers.* We humans aren't strong like lions, we don't swim as well as dolphins, and we definitely don't have wings! So how did we end up ruling the world? The answer to that is one of the strangest tales you'll ever hear. And it's a true story . . . Have you ever wondered how we got here? From hunting mammoths, to flying to the moon? It is because we are unstoppable. But what made us so? Well, we have the most amazing superpower: the ability to tell stories. Fairy tales have led us from imagining ghosts and spirits to being able to create money (yes, really!). And this has made us very powerful . . . but very deadly. Nothing stands in our way, and we always want more. So get ready for the most amazing story there ever was - the incredible true tale of the Unstoppables. Find out how fire shrank our stomachs, how our ancestors spoke to animals, what football can tell us about being human, how we used our superpower for good and bad . . . and how YOU have the superpower to change the world. With full-colour illustrations showing the relentless rise and rise of the human race, this is history like you've never experienced it before.

Meet a judo champion, a chess grandmaster, a spacewalking astronaut, a World War II spy, and more. . .

What do all these people have in common?

They are all inspiring Jewish women―mensches who rocked the world!