IT'S a pretty ambitious project, relating the history of an entire continent, from the first appearance of humanity to the present day.

Indeed, it took no less than 12 authors from all over Europe to bring it to fruition, so perhaps one shouldn't be surprised if the end result sometimes smacks of compromise.

Not that this volume shies away from the more difficult subjects. The problem is that all too often the writers start addressing a subject, only to cut to another just as things are getting interesting.

The main point about this history is the illustrations, with more than 520 of them and 120 colour maps. On that side it certainly scores, even to the extent that the text can start to distract from the images.

This is not a book for the history specialist, who may be mildly infuriated by the shallow treatment of pet subjects. Its value lies in introducing its subject matter to those without special knowledge. The illustrations, and the snippets of information, give a human face to the great names and issues of the past few thousand years.

A word of warning, though. This is not for committed Eurosceptics, since it tends to focus more positively on those things which unite Europeans rather than the many bloody divisions of their past.

Updated: 10:18 Wednesday, January 09, 2002