McKays A History of Western Society 13e is the same European History book that AP® students and teachers know and love – with easy readability, a multitude of primary sources, and attention to everyday life. And now, a new wrap-around Teachers Edition offers ideas and strategies to help students perfect their skills and master the content. This edition also includes new AP®-style questions in every chapter and time period.
Why are some countries rich and others poor? In 1500, the income differences were small, but they have grown dramatically since Columbus reached America. Since then, the interplay between geography, globalization, technological change, and economic policy has determined the wealth and poverty of nations. The industrial revolution was Britain's path breaking response to the challenge of globalization. Western Europe and North America joined Britain to form a club of rich nations by pursuing four polices-creating a national market by abolishing internal tariffs and investing in transportation, erecting an external tariff to protect their fledgling industries from British competition, banks to stabilize the currency and mobilize domestic savings for investment, and mass education to prepare people for industrial work. Together these countries pioneered new technologies that have made them ever richer. Before the Industrial Revolution, most of the world's manufacturing was done in Asia, but industries from Casablanca to Canton were destroyed by western competition in the nineteenth century, and Asia was transformed into 'underdeveloped countries' specializing in agriculture. The spread of economic development has been slow since modern technology was invented to fit the needs of rich countries and is ill adapted to the economic and geographical conditions of poor countries. A few countries - Japan, Soviet Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and perhaps China - have, nonetheless, caught up with the West through creative responses to the technological challenge and with Big Push industrialization that has achieved rapid growth through investment coordination. Whether other countries can emulate the success of East Asia is a challenge for the future. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
A History of Western Society continues to capture the attention of AP European history students because it recreates the lives of ordinary people and makes history memorable. Brought to you by the highly regarded editors at Bedford/St. Martins, every element of the text has been rethought, reconsidered, and revised to bring the original vision to a new generation of students. The tenth edition continues to tie social history to the broad sweep of politics and culture, heightening its attention to daily life, and strengthening the treatment of European exploration. With a dynamic new design, new special features on visual evidence, and a robust companion reader, A History of Western Society helps AP students master the concepts and content of European history.
The gold standard for AP European history, A History of Western Society, Ninth Edition remains unsurpassed in its integration of everyday life in the broad sweep of Western history. The enduring appeal of social history is strengthened in the new edition with fresh scholarship and global perspectives added by new authors Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks and Clare Haru Crowston. Compelling writing rich with details about daily life helps students identify with peoples of the past, while the authors' sustained attention to cultural, economic, political, and diplomatic history ensures a balanced, integrated narrative. A close fit with the College Board’s course description, the new edition includes engaging special features and a series of Document-Based Questions (DBQs) that help students develop their historical analysis skills and prepare for the AP exam.
Francis Oakley continues his magisterial three-part history of the emergence of Western political thought during the Middle Ages with this second volume in the series. Here, Oakley explores kingship from the tenth century to the beginning of the fourteenth, showing how, under the stresses of religious and cultural development, kingship became an inceasingly secular institution. “A masterpiece and the central part of a trilogy that will be a true masterwork.”—Jeffrey Burton Russell, University of California, Santa Barbara
