The Story of the Greatest Nations

Edited by: Charles F. Horne
Authors: Edward S. Ellis, and Charles F. Horne
Publisher: Francis R. Niglutsch, New York
Dates: 1901

The Greatest Nation Series, published in the early years of the twentieth century contains ten volumes, and covers most of the major countries of world history. It takes a unusual approach, in that it follows the complete history of each nation, from its inception to modern times, so that, for example, its history of Greece begins in the centuries before the Persian War and continues beyond the Greek wars of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. In addition to a brief and accessible history of each nation, time lines, chronologies and pronouncing vocabularies are provided. The outstanding feature of this series however, is not its text but rather its "Magnificent Illustrations". Every other page is a full page etching or other illustration of a historical scene.

The text, by Edward Ellis and Charles Horne, is clear and succinct. All of the main historical incidents and interesting personalities are briefly covered. Because the whole text was written and edited by the same team, the tone of the whole series is uniform, and relatively brief and easily read. Even the fine prose, however, pales in comparison to the series spectacular illustrations. For this reason, several of the volume’s illustrations have been prepared in advance of the actual text.

Greatest Nations: Persia   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: Greece   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: Rome   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: Germany   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: Austria   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: France   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: England   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: Spain   by C. F. Horne
This concise history of Spain is lavishly illustrated and tells the story of the rise of the Spanish nation from the age of the Romans and Visigoths through the Carlist Wars, and the complicated political machinations of the 19th century. The most outstanding feature of this book is its generous and spectacular illustrations. The history itself is 65 credits


Greatest Nations: Russia   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: China   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: Japan   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: United States   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: Turkey   by C. F. Horne
This history tells the story of the Rise and Fall of the Ottoman empire in Turkey. It begins with the rise of Osman, who laid the foundation of the Ottoman kingdom during the thirteenth century, immediately after the Crusades. It follows the rising fortunes of the Ottomans to their height in the 16th century, and their gradual decline. By the 19th century the Ottoman Empire was dominated by European powers and it expired entirely after the Great War. 70 credits


Greatest Nations: Scandinavia   by C. F. Horne
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Greatest Nations: Netherlands   by C. F. Horne
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