By the standards of astronauts, say, or science fiction writers, historians seem timid, unadventurous creatures who are only interested in one puny species -our species, the human species- on one tiny planet- our planet, Earth. But Earth is special. So far, we know of nowhere else in the cosmos where so much has happened and is happening today. By galactic standards, global history is a small story- but it?s a good one. Humans, moreover, compared with other animals, seem aoutward lookin. Our concerns range over the universe, and beyond it, to unseen worlds, vividly imagined or mysteriously revealed. Not just everything we do but also everything that occurs to our minds is part of our history and, therefore, is part of this book, including science and art, fun and philosophy, speculations and dreams. We continually generate stories -new stories- at an amazing rate. But the present passes instantly into the past. The present is always over, transformed into history. And the past is always with us, tugging at our memories, shaping our thought, launching and limitng our lives. Human history may seem narrowly self-interested, but it focuses on an undeniably riveting subject that is also our favorite subject- ourselves.
