Explore world history in a brief, balanced, highly readable overview that examines common challenges and experiences that unite the human past and identify key global regional patterns over time with THE ESSENTIAL WORLD HISTORY. This brief overview of world history covers political, economic, social, religious, intellectual, cultural, and military history integrated into a chronologically ordered synthesis to help you gain an appreciation and understanding of the distinctive character and development of individual cultures in society. You can use the book’s global approach and its emphasis on analytical comparisons between cultures to link events together in a broad comparative and global framework that places the contemporary world in a more meaningful historical context.
Part I: THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS AND THE RISE OF EMPIRES (PREHISTORY TO 500 C.E.).
1. Early Humans and the First Civilizations.
2. Ancient India.
3. China in Antiquity.
4. The Civilization of the Greeks.
5. The Roman World Empire.
Part II: NEW PATTERNS OF CIVILIZATION (500-1500 C.E.).
6. The Americas.
7. Ferment in the Middle East: The Rise of Islam.
8. Early Civilizations in Africa.
9. The Expansion of Civilization in South and Southeast Asia.
10. The Flowering of Traditional China.
11. The East Asian Rimlands: Early Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
12. The Making of Europe.
13. The Byzantine Empire and Crisis and Recovery in the West.
Part III: THE EMERGENCE OF NEW WORLD PATTERNS (1500-1800).
14. New Encounters: The Creation of a World Market.
15. Europe Transformed: Reform and State Building.
16. The Muslim Empires.
17. The East Asian World.
18. The West on the Eve of a New World Order.
Part IV: MODERN PATTERNS OF WORLD HISTORY (1800-1945).
19. The Beginnings of Modernization: Industrialization and Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century.
20. The Americas and Society and Culture in the West.
21. The High Tide of Imperialism.
22. Shadows over the Pacific: East Asia Under Challenge.
23. The Beginning of the Twentieth-Century Crisis: War and Revolution.
24. Nationalism, Revolution, and Dictatorship: Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America from 1919 to 1939.
25. The Crisis Deepens: World War II.
Part V: TOWARD A GLOBAL CIVILIZATION? THE WORLD SINCE 1945.
26. East and West in the Grip of the Cold War.
27. Brave New World: Communism on Trial.
28. Europe and the Western Hemisphere Since 1945.
29. Challenges of Nation Building in Africa and the Middle East.
30. Toward the Pacific Century?
Epilogue.
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William J. Duiker
William J. Duiker is liberal arts Professor Emeritus of East Asian studies at The Pennsylvania State University and a former U.S. diplomat with service in Taiwan, South Vietnam and Washington, D.C. At Penn State, he served as director of International Programs in the College of Liberal Arts and as chairman of the East Asian Studies Committee. He has written extensively on the history of Vietnam and modern China, including the highly acclaimed COMMUNIST ROAD TO POWER IN VIETNAM (revised edition, Westview Press, 1996), which was selected for a Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award in 1982-1983 and 1996-1997. He is also the author of CHINA AND VIETNAM: THE ROOTS OF CONFLICT (Berkeley, 1987), U.S. CONTAINMENT POLICY AND THE CONFLICT IN INDOCHINA (Stanford, 1995), SACRED WAR: NATIONALISM AND REVOLUTION IN A DIVIDED VIETNAM (McGraw-Hill, 1995) and HO CHI MINH (Hyperion, 2000), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2001. While Dr. Duiker's research specialization is in the field of nationalism and Asian revolutions, his intellectual interests are considerably more diverse. He has traveled widely and has taught courses on the history of communism and non-Western civilizations at Penn State, where he was awarded a Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in 1996. The College of Liberal Arts honored him with an Emeritus Distinction Award in 2002. Dr. Duiker received his doctorate in Far Eastern history from Georgetown University.
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Jackson J. Spielvogel
Jackson J. Spielvogel is Associate Professor Emeritus of History at The Pennsylvania State University. He received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, where he specialized in Reformation History under Harold J. Grimm. His articles and reviews have appeared in journals such as MOREANA, JOURNAL OF GENERAL EDUCATION, CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW, ARCHIV FÜR REFORMATIONSGESCHICHTE and AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW. He also has contributed chapters or articles to THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF REFORMATION, THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE: A DICTIONARY HANDBOOK, the SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER ANNUAL OF HOLOCAUST STUDIES and UTOPIAN STUDIES. His work has been supported by fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation and the Foundation for Reformation Research. At Penn State, he helped inaugurate the Western Civilization course, as well as a popular course on Nazi Germany. His book HITLER AND NAZI GERMANY was first published in 1987 (7th Edition, 2014). In addition, he is the author of WESTERN CIVILIZATION, first published in 1991 (10th Edition, 2018), and co-author (with William Duiker) of WORLD HISTORY, first published in 1994 (9th Edition, 2019). Professor Spielvogel has won five major university-wide teaching awards. During the 1988-1989 year, he held the Penn State Teaching Fellowship, the university's most prestigious teaching award. He won the Dean Arthur Ray Warnock Award for Outstanding Faculty member in 1996 and received the Schreyer Honors College Excellence in Teaching Award in 2000.
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Connections to Today--a new question has been added at the beginning of each chapter to help students appreciate the relevance of history by asking them to draw connections between the past and the present.
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New Primary Sources--New boxed documents have been added to almost every chapter. New topics include: “Social Classes in Ancient India” (Chapter 2); “Relations Between Greeks and Non-Greeks” (Chapter 4); “The Spread of the Muslim Faith” (Chapter 7); “Queen Elizabeth I: I Have the Heart of a King” (Chapter 15); “A Plea for Women’s Education” (Chapter 17); “Flaubert and an Image of Bourgeois Marriage” (Chapter 20); “A Speech by Vaclav Havel” (Chapter 27); and “Osama bin Laden’s ‘I Accuse’” (Chapter 29).
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New Opposing Viewpoints--Several new Opposing Viewpoints features appear in the Eighth Edition. New topics include: “Women in the Roman and Han Empires” (Chapter 5); “Two Views of Trade and Merchants” (Chapter 12; “Practical Learning or Confucian Essence” (Chapter 22); and “Confrontation in Southeast Asia” (Chapter 26).
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New Film & History features--New Film & History essays include: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (Chapter 24); DR. STRANGELOVE (Chapter 26); and THE IRON LADY (Chapter 28).
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All chapters have been updated to reflect current scholarship, including dramatic recent events in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
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Connections to Today--a new question has been added at the beginning of each chapter to help students appreciate the relevance of history by asking them to draw connections between the past and the present.
-
New Primary Sources--New boxed documents have been added to almost every chapter. New topics include: “Social Classes in Ancient India” (Chapter 2); “Relations Between Greeks and Non-Greeks” (Chapter 4); “The Spread of the Muslim Faith” (Chapter 7); “Queen Elizabeth I: I Have the Heart of a King” (Chapter 15); “A Plea for Women’s Education” (Chapter 17); “Flaubert and an Image of Bourgeois Marriage” (Chapter 20); “A Speech by Vaclav Havel” (Chapter 27); and “Osama bin Laden’s ‘I Accuse’” (Chapter 29).
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New Opposing Viewpoints--Several new Opposing Viewpoints features appear in the Eighth Edition. New topics include: “Women in the Roman and Han Empires” (Chapter 5); “Two Views of Trade and Merchants” (Chapter 12; “Practical Learning or Confucian Essence” (Chapter 22); and “Confrontation in Southeast Asia” (Chapter 26).
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New Film & History features--New Film & History essays include: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (Chapter 24); DR. STRANGELOVE (Chapter 26); and THE IRON LADY (Chapter 28).
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All chapters have been updated to reflect current scholarship, including dramatic recent events in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
-
“Opposing Viewpoints” features present two or more primary source documents representing differing perspectives on the same or related topics. These features provide students an opportunity for hands-on experience analyzing the types of materials historians use on a regular basis. The accompanying critical-thinking questions can be assigned for individual or collaborative study. Topics include “Women in Athens and Sparta” (Chapter 4); “Two Views of Trade and Merchants” (Chapter 12); “Some Confucian Commandments” (Chapter 17); “Confrontation in Southeast Asia” (Chapter 26); and “Islam and the West: Secularism in France” (Chapter 28).
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More than 100 primary documents (4-5 per chapter) give students access to the kind of material historians draw on when doing their research. Documents include a wide variety of sources such as letters, memoirs, song lyrics, official documents, diary entries, menus, poetry, plays, and more. Introductions and questions help guide students to think more critically, comparatively, and thematically when reading the primary source material, and bring history alive for students. Examples include “‘Draw Their Veils over Their Bosoms’” (Chapter 7); “British Victory in India” (Chapter 18); “Women in the Factories” (Chapter 23); and “The Path of Liberation” (Chapter 24).
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Seven central themes make the narrative cohesive while helping students make connections and comparisons across chapters. These themes are Science and Technology; Art and Ideas; Family and Society; Politics and Government; Earth and the Environment; Religion and Philosophy; and Interaction and Exchange. Comparative Essays, Comparative Illustrations, Opposing Viewpoints, and documents are each keyed to one of these themes.
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Comparative Essays highlight similarities and differences between and among cultures. Examples include “History and the Environment” (Chapter 6); “The Columbian Exchange” (Chapter 14); “Imperialisms Old and New” (Chapter 21); and “A Revolution in the Arts” (Chapter 23). The Comparative Essays are specifically keyed to one of the seven themes, thus helping students further identify connections.
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“Film & History” features analyze the plot and historical significance of popular films using a historian’s perspective to show students how movies represent, and sometimes misrepresent, the past. Features shine the spotlight on films such as GLADIATOR (Chapter 5), THE LION IN WINTER (Chapter 12), MARIE ANTOINETTE (Chapter 18), and THE IRON LADY (Chapter 28).
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“Opposing Viewpoints” features present two or more primary source documents representing differing perspectives on the same or related topics. These features provide students an opportunity for hands-on experience analyzing the types of materials historians use on a regular basis. The accompanying critical-thinking questions can be assigned for individual or collaborative study. Topics include “Women in Athens and Sparta” (Chapter 4); “Two Views of Trade and Merchants” (Chapter 12); “Some Confucian Commandments” (Chapter 17); “Confrontation in Southeast Asia” (Chapter 26); and “Islam and the West: Secularism in France” (Chapter 28).
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More than 100 primary documents (4-5 per chapter) give students access to the kind of material historians draw on when doing their research. Documents include a wide variety of sources such as letters, memoirs, song lyrics, official documents, diary entries, menus, poetry, plays, and more. Introductions and questions help guide students to think more critically, comparatively, and thematically when reading the primary source material, and bring history alive for students. Examples include “‘Draw Their Veils over Their Bosoms’” (Chapter 7); “British Victory in India” (Chapter 18); “Women in the Factories” (Chapter 23); and “The Path of Liberation” (Chapter 24).
-
Seven central themes make the narrative cohesive while helping students make connections and comparisons across chapters. These themes are Science and Technology; Art and Ideas; Family and Society; Politics and Government; Earth and the Environment; Religion and Philosophy; and Interaction and Exchange. Comparative Essays, Comparative Illustrations, Opposing Viewpoints, and documents are each keyed to one of these themes.
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Comparative Essays highlight similarities and differences between and among cultures. Examples include “History and the Environment” (Chapter 6); “The Columbian Exchange” (Chapter 14); “Imperialisms Old and New” (Chapter 21); and “A Revolution in the Arts” (Chapter 23). The Comparative Essays are specifically keyed to one of the seven themes, thus helping students further identify connections.
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“Film & History” features analyze the plot and historical significance of popular films using a historian’s perspective to show students how movies represent, and sometimes misrepresent, the past. Features shine the spotlight on films such as GLADIATOR (Chapter 5), THE LION IN WINTER (Chapter 12), MARIE ANTOINETTE (Chapter 18), and THE IRON LADY (Chapter 28).
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