“Fifteen to twenty years ago the subject of project management would have only interested a few diehards in the industry, as few people would have ever heard of the science.   Yet, we as a species have been practicing project management since we left caves and began small towns many thousands of years ago.  

 
Mark Kozak-Holland’s book The History of Project Management follows the rise of project management through recorded history.   Even today few people would have considered taking on the gargantuan task of following the history of project management from the caves to the present day.  Mark did.  And we are in his debt for doing so. 
This book follows project management from the pyramids of ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire to Panama Canal and the Empire State Building.  This all encompassing prose ties current practices to projects in the distant past.  It does so in an informative and interesting manner!   I love the research and time put into this book to get it right. If you ever what to know how we got here as project managers, this is the book to tell you!  
 
I am a college professor. If I am ever able to teach a course in the history project management, I would undoubtedly use this book.  It is the best book on the subject I have ever seen! I recommend this as a must read for all project managers!” 

“I have used Titanic lessons for IT projects and Project lessons from The Great Escape (Stalag Luft III) in my graduate classes for several years and now intend to use the History of Project Management as well. The lessons from history series is an effective and creative way to promote student learning and generate class discussion.” 

“A book on the History of Project Management is long overdue especially one that looks at the history from a modern Project Management perspective.” 

“I was already a fan of Mark Kozak-Holland long before I got this book. His project management evaluation of the Great Escape and his IT lessons from the Titanic had already marked him as an author to watch, and that's before I read his insights into the management style and practices of Winston Churchill. Now comes THE HISTORY OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT, and I'm overpowered by the strength and intelligence of this mammoth enterprise.

THE HISTORY OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT's title is slightly misleading: it's less of a history of project management as a discipline (although that's certainly covered), and more of a history of the management of projects, with emphasis on the projects. Kozak-Holland shows how PMBOK®-centric concepts like the nine knowledge areas of project management have been implemented through the years in actual work. From the Great Pyramid at Giza to the Parthenon, from the Hagia Sophia to Angkor Wat, Kozak-Holland moves seamlessly between West and East, covering important projects in virtually every civilization and time period. We see Christopher Columbus as project manager rather than in the more common light of explorer. We see project manager vs. owner and customer in the building of Versailles. As the Industrial Revolution takes hold, we see the birth of modern management practices in the Eiffel Tower and the Transcontinental Railroad.

The book stops with the first half of the 20th Century, but that's okay. We know what project management looks like from the invention of PERT and CPM forward. What we seldom think about as project management practitioners is how much came before us, and how much we owe to the knowledge and techniques of those pioneers of project management. This is a book I expect to read more than once, and it's a book everyone interested in project management ought to own.” 

“I first met Mark several years ago when I attended a presentation on “Avoiding Project Disaster: Titanic Lessons”, followed by a session a few years later on the “Project Lessons from the Great Escape”.   Impressed at that time by his attention to detail and captivating writing and speaking style, I was honored to be asked to be a reviewer his newest endeavor, “The History of project Management.”

 
In examining the TOC I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of this undertaking, and then reading the content, it is very clear that once again Mark quickly captures his audience and leads them on an incredible journey through history. What I particularly liked about the style, was that you did not have to commit to read the book at one sitting, but rather use it almost as a reference book, and a valuable educational tool.
 

The project management role is made apparent from the very beginning, as shown in the mapping of each project to the 9 knowledge areas, and then discussed in relation to the 5 process groups (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing.)

The importance of lessons learned and historical information, confirms that project managers have existed for thousands of years and have learned from their predecessors (and their own) mistakes and successes.  How could the Great Wall of China or the Egyptian pyramids be built without a plan to be executed? 
 

Like me, you certainly will be captivated by this book and the style in which it is written. I am looking forward to the companion volume which will cover the more recent projects of the 20th and 21st centuries."

“I have read a few books by Mark Kozak-Holland but his latest is the best to date. “THE HISTORY OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT” gives a new insight into “everything we do has been done before”. I takes us on a journey thorough time to explore what great leaders have done in the past. It deeply describes mankind’s many challenges and how we overcame them to meet with one end goal.

I would recommend this book to not only project managers but almost anyone who has or ever will run a business. The principles and practices remain the same and by using the same discipline as great leaders have done in the past. We can inevitably see answers to the challenges we all face, day by day.

So I advise you, if you are a project manager or even a history “buff”, to have a read through this book. Mark has always researched some of the intricate details that many of us have missed. I basically challenge anyone to read this book and not find it interesting and insightful.”