Van Loon writes in a personalized, informative storytelling style. He refers to his own childhood, pauses to explain the meaning of difficult terms, and draws annotated sketches to clarify his text.

The author's tone is encouraging, patient, and conversational. The book is laced with excitement and energy, and readers are encouraged to enter directly into the scenes.

The events of the book occur in chronological order, concluding with a five-page "animated chronology." The author takes an analytical approach to history—trends and movements are stressed, rather than dates. While the content of the book is comprehensive and descriptive, the language is simple and approachable, incorporating occasional cliches and generalizations.

Young readers may not be familiar with several of the "old-fashioned" words used in the book, such as "Cathay" for China or "Jipango" for Japan.