Thirty-six lectures by Peter N. Stearns that provide a survey of the expanse of human development and civilization across the globe, beginning with the invention of agriculture in the Neolithic era and ending with the urbanized, technologically sophisticated world of the 21st century.

What is the scene or incident in European history that you would like to have witnessed--and why? This is the question that the editors posed to twenty superb historians, who each wrote a personal essay in response. The result is this engrossing book, a worthy sequel to the acclaimed volume on American history, I Wish I'd Been There. From the death of Alexander the Great to the German surrender ending World War II, these essays move across a wide...

"History will transform your view of the past. It looks at our development and progress from every angle. Exploring the key events, the crucial ideas, the political forces, the pivotal individuals, and the technological breakthroughs that have shaped the human history." - back cover

Combines four previously published history atlases into one volume, covering the history of human civilization from the ancient world to the modern era and examining religion, exploration, war, colonization, kingdoms, and technology.

A reference guide to world history, featuring a timeline, key date boxes, and biographies of historical figures. This authoritative reference book brings world history to life, from early humans to the current war on terror. Along the way, it reveals riveting facts on the founding of the great Roman Empire, the revolution that changed France forever, the war between the North and South that unified America, the start of World War I and the Great Depression...

"Eminent historian Paul Strathern opens the history of Empire with the Akkadian civilization, which ruled over a vast expanse of the region of ancient Mesopotamia, then turns to the immense Roman Empire, where we trace back our Western and Eastern roots. Next the narrative describes how a great deal of Western Classical culture was developed in the Abbasid and Umayyad Caliphates. Then, while Europe was beginning to emerge from a period of cultural...

"In this year's highly anticipated Massey Lectures, internationally acclaimed historian Margaret MacMillan gives her own personal selection of the great figures of the past, women and men, who have changed the course of history and even directed the currents of their times--and sometimes with huge consequences, as in the cases of Hitler, Stalin, and Thatcher. She also acknowledges people such as Richard Nixon and George W. Bush who stubbornly went...

"A museum in a book, this collection of treasures from the past brings history to life, from Stone-Age tools to smartphones. Children will love to explore galleries of intriguing objects from ancient civilizations, bygone eras, and breakthrough moments, to understand how the modern world has been influenced by the past"--

Traces human civilization from early bands of hunter-gatherers to the multicultural world cities of the present, covering the development of agriculture, empires, law, and the major religions, the rise of Europe, colonies, and industrialization.