A Criminal History of Mankind

More about the book

At the age of twelve, I stumbled upon a collection of magazines in a secondhand bookshop, including H. G. Wells’s Outline of History. The captivating illustrations of prehistoric creatures and ancient civilizations sparked a profound fascination with world history. This excitement echoed the enchanting feeling children experience when they hear, “Once upon a time...” Years later, I encountered a condensed version of Wells’s work, which included a perplexing postscript titled “Mind at the End of Its Tether.” Written after World War II, it conveyed a disheartening view that humanity, or Homo sapiens, had reached its end. This stark contrast to the uplifting conclusions of earlier editions, which expressed hope for mankind’s future and the potential for peace through global cooperation, left me frustrated. I later asked a friend of Wells, biblical historian Hugh Schonfield, about this shift in tone. He suggested that Wells had once believed he possessed the solutions to humanity's problems but became disillusioned when he realized that no one shared his vision. This journey through Wells’s evolving perspective on history and humanity's fate continues to resonate, highlighting the complexities of our existence and the challenges we face.