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Title: World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Vol. 2 - 1450 To Present, Third Edition by Peter Stearns, Michael Adas, Stuart Schwartz, Marc Jason Gilbert ISBN: 0-321-03813-4 Publisher: Addison Wesley Pub. Date: 11 August, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $75.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Serious Problems
Comment: I have this book for AP World history, and I have read Michael Adas' (one of the authors of the book) essay on the "new" world history. The "new" world history emphasizes analysis and comparison between different civilizations, unlike the "old" history which emphasizes comprehensiveness and rote. This book does indeed teach along the lines of the "new" history, and I appreciate that it does not tread into the Euro-centrism or exceptionalism of America that most World History books diverge into.
However, I have some serious problems with this book. While the authors analyze many aspects of each civilization, I find them to be excessively politically correct. And while I find the political correctness irritating, that is not my biggest problem with this book.
My biggest problem is that this textbook is laden with factual errors. After reading just two chapters, I found dozens of errors, especially in the chapter on the Aztecs. Therefore, I do not know whether I can rely on this book as a source of information.
I hope Stearns et al. fix their mistakes. It is important to look at history in an analytical way, but one cannot analyze incorrect facts.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Best In Its Field
Comment: I've been reading and comparing a few global history texts, and this one is in another class. If you're wanting a chronological narrative treading the traditional origins, greek, egyptian, indus valley . . . pattern then this text will not please you. If you're after a well written and presented text combining a good synthesis of fact with thought provoking analysis then this IS for you! I can see perhaps why lecturers might go for other more factual texts if they want to look at the global past in different terms to this one, however I think they can't go wrong with the themes Stearns and co. explore. Its got that perfect balance of fact and analysis. The boxed features and lengthy document extracts fit in well, and the lists of sources are well worthwhile.
So yes, you WILL learn a lot from this book because instead of just providing a series of events, people, terms and dates to rote learn it will get you thinking about the themes of global history, and encourage you to compare, contrast and evaluate. Its also one of the few "World History" texts that isn't a Western Civilization history with a few extra chapters thrown in. It really looks at the whole world with a fresh view, including a variety of cultures and experiences. In the Classical era you'll recieve valuable insights into nomadic peoples, providing the opportunity to understand differing means of organising society and allowing worthwhile comparisons that actually enhance understanding the more well trodden ground of Greece, Rome etc. Other fascinating coverage in this vein includes chapters about migration and the spread of peoples (Africans, Slavs and Polynesians), a whole chapter on the Mongol empire and the independence and nationhood movements of Latin America. I reiterate that these other perspectives are introduced in a way which enhances the overall understanding of world history, and are certainly not arbitary "pc" insertions. The authors do not shirk from showing the rise of the west, and the positives and negatives of imperialism. However it also allows us to see the limitations, and non-inevitability of this rise.
If you insist on reading a solely factual survey text, Traditions and Encounters by Bentley and Ziegler will do a great job, however for any student or enthusiast of World History, this book will open your eyes to new perspectives and really encourage you to engage your braincells!
Rating: 5
Summary: The most comprehensive book regarding the entire world
Comment: While some may at first find this book to be daughting, or even uninformative, they would be surprised to learn that what the book presents is one of the most unbiased accounts of World History. As a student who was taught AP World History, I found the book to be incredible. Along with incredibly factual passages, the book also includes primary sources to aid learning. In additon, the book is completely unbiased; spending as much time if not more on African, Asian, and Western roots as it does on Rome, Egypt, or the Greeks. Also, the book spends extraordinay amounts of time discussing ALL of the civilizations of the world, not just the cut and dry topics that were explored in the years before. Despite what the other reviewer has said, this book is the most incredible source of history I have ever read, and should be standard in schools around the country. Regarding the expense, with a source as good as this, the cost is minimal. I found the book so helpful I actually purchased my own copy after I finished the cource.
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Title: The Human Record: Sources of Global History : Volume I by Alfred Andrea, James Overfield ISBN: 0618042458 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 01 January, 1900 List Price(USD): $46.76 |
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Title: How to Prepare for the AP World History by John Mccannon, Pamela Jordan ISBN: 0764118161 Publisher: Barrons Educational Series Pub. Date: 28 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Makers of World History by J. Kelley Sowards ISBN: 031209650X Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's Pub. Date: January, 1995 List Price(USD): $39.80 |
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Title: Sources of the Western Tradition : Volume I by Marvin Perry, Joseph R. Peden, Theodore Von Laue ISBN: 0618162275 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 01 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $45.56 |
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Title: World History in Documents: A Comparative Reader by Peter N. Stearns ISBN: 0814781071 Publisher: New York University Press Pub. Date: September, 1998 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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