A chock-full exploration of the history of the world, from the Big Bang to the present (even the attack on Charlie Hebdo gets a mention), rendered accessible in striking drawings that almost send your head spinning, there’s so much in them. And all this in an unorthodox format. This is Peter Goes’s Tijdlijn (Timeline). In this modern-looking book – though the colours are suggestive of something created decades ago – everything is subservient to the high-quality illustrations.
Particularly for children, this is a real eye-opener in which montage, association and compression create a real journey through time. The designer and artist play interesting games with time, deliberately compressing the course of history without taking too many liberties with the facts. ‘This is good for the complexity of the developing brain,’ observed one panel member. It’s a book that entirely lives up to its promise, both for small children and those a little older. That the cover looks rather Gothic and chaotic is something we can live with. History is sometimes a pit of vipers.