What on earth happened? - Christopher Lloyd

Wanted to learn a little more about History, and hence picked up this book. I got the condensed version and it was a very fast read - finished it within a couple of days.

It was quite a humbling experience to be reading about the whole of earth's history and realising that humanity (and also my life) are but an extremely small blip in the whole scheme of things.

And looking at everything in a greatly condensed timeline also made me realise how transitory events, people and countries' destinies are. No one stays at the top forever, and when one's fortune changes, nothing seems to be able to stop it.

I think I live in a fortunate time - at a time when Singapore as a country is doing great, my family background is decent, and I've been given opportunities to do the things I want. At the very least, I'm not born into an era where people's lifespans are a mere 30 years - otherwise I'd be near the end of my life!