The History of Information

<p><b>SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2025<br><br>***<br><br>A journey through the evolution of knowledge, communication, and information.<br><br>The debut non-fiction book by best-selling author Chris Haughton.</b><br><br>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.<br><br>Why is it that we had kings and queens at all?<br><br>Why then all of a sudden did we abandon them and shift to democracies?<br><br>Why did the world’s religions rise around the same time?<br><br>Why is society dominated by men?<br><br>The answers all come down to the same thin 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, polarisation, and AI.<br><br>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. <i>The History of Information</i>, through a mix of timelines, graphics, and illustrations, clearly breaks down and explains each concept for children and adults alike.<br><br><br><b><i>The History of Information </i>includes:</b></p><p><br></p><ul><li>A beautiful look at the story of information; from the first languages and cave paintings, through to how we communicate and record information today.</li><li>Content written and illustrated by world famous and multi-award winning author and illustrator, Chris Haughton.</li><li>A global journey throughout history from the origination of language, how information has been passed on and recorded, and how this affected humanity.</li></ul>