The first part: the world before human beings: it includes five chapters, which outline the earth from the aspects of time and space, paleontological traces left by ancient rocks, biology and climate, reptile era, mammal era and so on.
The second part: the formation of human beings: the seven chapters are devoted to describing apes and Asians, Neanderthals, a genocide in the middle paleolithic period, the appearance of real people in the late paleolithic period, the people in the Neolithic period began farming and primitive trade, and the formation of early human thoughts, human races and human languages.
The third part: the initial civilization: including five chapters, which are the early empires, including Sumerian and Sumerian empires, Babylonian empires, Assyrian empires and early civilizations of Egypt, India and China; Sailors and business people; The appearance of words; God and star, monk and emperor; There are serfs, slaves, social classes and free men in human society.
The fourth part: Judaism, Greece and India: it is divided into seven chapters, namely Hebrew Bible and Prophet, which briefly reviews the formation and historical status of the Jewish nation; An Aryan speaker in prehistoric times; Greeks and Persians; Greek thought, literature and art; Alexander, king of Macedonia, made a comprehensive introduction and analysis of the life of this famous emperor. Scientific and religious prosperity in Alexandria, Egypt; The rise and spread of Buddhism. The author also discusses Confucianism and Taoism in China. He pointed out: "A thorough study of these three religions (Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism) is the first step if the great nations of the East and the West want to achieve real exchanges in knowledge and morality."
Part V: The rise and fall of the Roman Empire: including three chapters. In the chapter entitled "Two Western Republics", the origin of the Latin nation and the three wars between Rome and Carthage and their consequences are traced. The remaining two chapters discuss the internal disputes of the Roman Republic. The reason why this Republic, which belongs to the nature of autonomous community, failed was that it could not maintain unity, so it was inevitable to return to the monarchy. Roman civilization experienced its heyday, and with the invasion of barbarians, the Roman Empire finally collapsed.
The sixth part: Christianity and Islam: including four chapters, Wells grasped the main points of the rise, spread and influence of these two religions on world civilization, and made an incisive exposition, which can be called the most fascinating part of the Outline of World History.
Part VII: The Mongolian Empire on land and the new empire at sea. This part consists of two chapters. The book refers to the great empire of Genghis Khan and his descendants as "the land age", and tells the great influence of the Mongolian empire that swept across the Eurasian continent in the 13 ~ 16 century on the formation of Asian and European culture and society, as well as the Mughal empire established by the Grand Duchy of Moscow and Genghis Khan's descendants under the influence of the Mongols. The other chapter is the revival of western civilization characterized by land giving way to the sea, focusing on16th century European religious reform movement,15-16th century European scientific awakening, renaissance and geographical discovery. There is a section on "How Paper Liberated the Human Mind", which says that paper originated in China and was later introduced into the Christian world through different channels. Wells probably didn't know that Bi in China Song Dynasty used letterpress printing 400 years earlier than this man, and he didn't know that Bi's invention didn't spread to Europe, and the Dutch invented letterpress printing 400 years later.
Part VIII: Great Power Era: 5 chapters in total. The time span is17th century to 100 years ago in the First World War. This paper focuses on the formation of the concept of European power, and the struggle for European hegemony and overseas expansion has become a prominent feature of this era, in which Napoléon Bonaparte's life and career are discussed in a special chapter. The American Revolution and the French Revolution are the focus of the author's comments in this part. The author praised the two revolutions. "It swept away many outdated and harmful things, but left many harmful and unreasonable things. It has solved many problems and left a desire for friendship and order, and many bigger problems seem to have just been exposed. " He pointed out that the new system failed to solve the three major problems of the old system: property, currency and international relations.