The Story of Mankind covers the history of western civilization beginning with primitive man, the development of writing, art, and architecture, the rise of major religions, and the formation of the modern nation-state. Van Loon explains in the book how he selected what and what not to include by subjecting all materials to the question: Did the person or event in question perform an act without which the entire history of civilization would have been different?

Hendrik Willem van Loon was a Dutch-American historian, journalist, and award-winning children's book author.