《人类的故事》是一部以通俗手法描写人类文明发展史的历史巨著，书中既有宏大而流畅的“大历史”叙述，也有微妙而精彩的人类文明进程中的细节描写。作者用生动流畅的文字，从人类的起源讲起，讲述希腊与罗马时代的辉煌、城市的兴起、十字军东征、文艺复兴以及近代各国的革命……为读者展示了人类发展的历史长卷。该书曾入选美国中学历史教科书，被翻译成多国语言，在世界上产生广泛的影响。

亨德里克·威廉·房龙(Van Loon.H.W.，1882—1944)，杰出的美国通俗历史作家，出生于荷兰。他1931年开始写书，直到1921年写出《人类的故事》，一举成名，饮誉世界。房龙一生著述颇丰，写了30多部涉及历史、文化、文明以及科学等方面的书籍，主要包括《房龙地理》《文明的开端》《太平洋的故事》《人类的艺术》《圣经的故事》《宽容》《美国的故事》《与伟人谈心》以及此书《人类的故事》等。房龙的著作文笔优美、知识广博、轻松风趣，真知灼见发人深省，贯穿着理性、宽容和进步的人文主义思想，具有经久不衰的魅力，在世界各地广受读者喜爱。房龙是出色的通俗作家，伟大的文化普及者，他的目标是向人类的无知和偏执挑战。他采取的方式是普及知识与真理，使他们成为尽人皆知的常识。

Foreword
Chapters 1 The Setting of the Stage
Chapters 2 Our Earliest Ancestors
Chapters 3 Prehistoric Man
Chapters 4 Hieroglyphics
Chapters 5 The Nile Valley
Chapters 6 The Story of Egypt
Chapters 7 Mesopotamia
Chapters 8 The Sumerians
Chapters 9 Moses
Chapters 10 The Phoenicians
Chapters 11 The Indo-Europeans
Chapters 12 The Aegean Sea
Chapters 13 The Greeks
Chapters 14 The Greek Cities
Chapters 11 Greek Self-Government
Chapters 16 Greek Life
Chapters 17 The Greek Theatre
Chapters 18 The Persian Wars
Chapters 19 Athens vs. Sparta
Chapters 20 Alexander the Great
Chapters 21 Rome and Carthage
Chapters 22 The Rise of Rome
Chapters 23 The Roman Empire
Chapters 24 Joshua of Nazareth
Chapters 25 The Fall of Rome
Chapters 26 Rise of the Church
Chapters 27 Mohammed
Chapters 28 Charlemagne
Chapters 29 The Norsemen
Chapters 30 Feudalism
Chapters 31 Chivalry
Chapters 32 Pope vs. Emperor
Chapters 33 The Crusades
Chapters 34 The Mediaeval City
Chapters 35 Mediaeval Self-Government
Chapters 36 The Mediaeval World
Chapters 37 Mediaeval Trade
Chapters 38 The Renaissance
Chapters 39 The Age of Expression
Chapters 40 The Great Discoveries
Chapters 41 Buddha and Confucius
Chapters 42 The Reformation
Chapters 43 Religious Warfare
Chapters 44 The English Revolution
Chapters 45 The Balance of Power
Chapters 46 The Rise of Russia
Chapters 47 Russia vs. Sweden
Chapters 48 The Rise of Prussia
Chapters 49 The Mereantile System
Chapters 50 The American Revolution
Chapters 51 The French Revolution
Chapters 52 Napoleon
Chapters 53 The Holy Alliance
Chapters 54 The Great Reaction
Chapters 55 National Independenee
Chapters 56 The Age of the Engine
Chapters 57 The Soeial Revolution
Chapters 58 Emancipation
Chapters 59 The Age of Science
Chapters 60 Art
Chapters 61 Colonial Expansion and War
Chapters 62 A New World
Chapters 63 As It Ever Shall Be