Rating: 
Summary: Good biographical summary
Review: First off, this book is recommended simply because it is a useful resource of biographical sketches and analyses of the respective impacts these individuals had on history. It is a good conversation starter and always thought provoking.What disappoints me, however, is that he doesn't take a "hinges" of history approach to the concept. In theory you can take this to the extreme--for example, who's more influential, Muhammed or the woman who gave birth to Muhammed? However, there are key characters in world history who do not even make the "near miss" list, yet alone the Top 100. What about Themistocles, whose foresight in investing in an Athenian navy helped to save Athens from the Persian invasion? No Themistocles, no Greek victory, no Greek hegemony, likely no Socrates, no Aristotle, no philosophy. Or Scipio Africanus, who saved Rome from Hannibal by basically inventing the scorched earth military tactics and taking the battle to Carthage while Hannibal owned Italy. Scipio was an original tactician. No Scipio, no Roman conquest of Spain and North Africa, no doorway into Egypt and Palestine (and we know how important Roman influence is around 30 C.E. in Palestine), no Roman hegemony of the Meditareanian, no economic monopoly of Med trade, no Roman empire, thus no Ceasar, and possibly no Rome, period, as Hannibal probably could have destroyed Rome if not for Scipio's victories in Spain. Or Woodrow Wilson, who got the U.S. into the first World War (and thus helped to win it), who helped to form the modern world as we know it, who helped to create the map of the Middle East which is giving us such headaches (not to mention Yugoslavia), who helped to craft the post-WWI world which directly contributed to WWII? Or James Madison, who wrote the Constitution, a legal document that lawyers are still fighting over how to interpret the 1st, 2nd, 10th Ammendments? No Constitution, duh, no United States. He should be ranked ahead of Jefferson, not a "near miss". Or Pope Gregory the Great, who basically formed the political role of the papacy in Europe for a 1000+ years. No Attila the Hun? He played a critical role in empowering the papacy AND weakening the Roman empire. Or Columbanus, who helped to keep European intellectualism from completely falling into barbarianism during the 7th/8th Centuries by building intellectually rigorous monasteries across the continent, planting the seeds for scholasticism, and thus, eventually, science (although it takes a couple of centuries). Or Muawiya, who contributed to the split in Islam between Sunni and Shi'a, and we know how much impact *that* has had on world history, especially the past 25 years. Or Emperor Meiji, who modernized Japan in the 19th Century? In fact, Hart basically jumps from St. Paul to Guttenberg w/o mentioning anyone of note during the middle ages when the seeds of Modern Europe and Japan were planted (the G8 countries are all European in origin, except Japan and maybe Russia). Mani? JFK? Guy who invented birth control? No, no, NO! Kick them off the list, and pick any if not all of the aforementioned figures! It will be interesting to see what an updated list would have. Reagan would probably be listed higher, considering he transformed the U.S. economy and helped to defeat the USSR. Ossama Bin Laden? George Bush? The person who defined Wahhabism? David Ben Gurion? Kemal Ataturk? Watson and Crick?
Rating: 
Summary: Uh, the structure of DNA?
Review: I admit, I've only read the Table of Contents. But, shouldn't James Watson and Francis Crick (and maybe Wilkins and Franklin) be on the list, considering some of the people that did make it. I mean the discovery of the structure of DNA and how it codes for genetic information has had a large impact on the world already.
Rating:
Summary: Uh, the structure of DNA?
Review: I'll admit, I have just read the table of contents. But I question the exclusion from this list of James Watson and Francis Crick (and maybe Franklin and Wilkins), who discovered the structure of DNA and the way it codes for genetic information. Surely their discovery has had a large impact on history in just a short time, more so than that individuals like JFK and Mao. Other than that, I'm very tempted to buy a copy anyway.
Rating: 
Summary: who would you pick?
Review: The whole point of this book is that the premise is impossible to satisfy. Noone will agree with all the choices made by the author, and that is made very clear in the introduction. It is simply HIS opinion, and the book is designed to make you justify your position. It is great fun to see where your personal favorites in history land in the ranking and to discover people you had never heard of and see their influence on all of us. For example, the author only gave Jesus a third place ranking, stating that His philosophy of non-retaliation and loving your enemies has never been tried. Had He been more influential, perhaps us Christians would be more loving. What do you think? Whatever you think, think you will.
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