Students of Western civilization need more than facts. They need to understand the cross-cultural, global exchanges that shaped Western history; to be able to draw connections between the social, cultural, political, economic, and intellectual happenings in a given era; and to see the West not as a fixed region, but a living, evolving construct. These needs have long been central to The Making of the West. The book’s chronological narrative emphasizes the wide variety of peoples and cultures that created Western civilization and places them together in a common context, enabling students to witness the unfolding of Western history, understand change over time, and recognize fundamental relationships.
Central Europe remains a region of ongoing change and continuing significance in the contemporary world. This third, fully revised edition of the Historical Atlas of Central Europe takes into consideration recent changes in the region. The 120 full-colour maps, each accompanied by an explanatory text, provide a concise visual survey of political, economic, demographic, cultural, and religious developments from the fall of the Roman Empire in the early fifth century to the present. No less than 19 countries are the subject of this atlas. In terms of today's borders, those countries include Lithuania, Poland, and Belarus in the north; the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovakia in the Danubian Basin; and Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, and Greece in the Balkans. Much attention is also given to areas immediately adjacent to the central European core: historic Prussia, Venetia, western Anatolia, and Ukraine west of the Dnieper River. Embedded in the text are 48 updated administrative and statistical tables. The value of the Historical Atlas of Central Europe as an authoritative reference tool is further enhanced by an extensive bibliography and a gazetteer of place names - in up to 29 language variants - that appear on the maps and in the text. The Historical Atlas of Central Europe is an invaluable resource for scholars, students, journalists, and general readers who wish to have a fuller understanding of this critical area, with its many peoples, languages, and continued political upheaval.
The study of world history - those great movements and conflicts which form man's collective memory - is essential for an appreciation of the world today. Illustrated with over 300 dynamic and colourful maps this superlative atlas makes a fascinating companion for anyone aspiring to understand the past and an ideal reference for all who study or enjoy history. The text is divided into four main sections covering history from the ancient to the modern world. Section one - Early Man and the Civilisations of the Ancient World - includes: the origins of man; man the hunter; the ice age; stone age cultures; the agricultural revolution; early civilisations (including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete, Greece, India, and China); world religions and the Roman empire. Section two - Decline and Recovery: the emergence of a new world - covers: the Barbarian invasions; Christianity, Judaism and Islam; Medieval Europe; the Imperial dynasties of China; and early peoples of Africa and the Americas. The Rise of the West looks at: European voyages of discovery and expansion overseas; colonial America; the expansion of Russia; the struggle for empire; the age of revolution and Napoleon; the expansion of the United States; the Industrial Revolution; European colonialism; the world economy; and the First World War. The Modern World concludes the book, discussing: the Russian and Chinese revolutions; the modernisation of Japan; the Great Depression; the Second World War; retreat from empire; the development of the superpowers; the Cold War; and the world in the 1980s.
A chronology of world history ranges from the dawn of humankind to the present day, examining important events, milestones, ideas, and personalities that occurred simultaneously in different regions of the world.
This text records the history of human society throughout the world, from prehistory to the year 2002, in 450 specially commissioned colour maps, 200 illustrations, tables and diagrams, and 200,000 words.
"[This] magnificent critical survey, with its inherent respect for both the 'Westt's mainstream high culture' and the 'radically changing world' of the 1990s, offers a new breakthrough for lay and scholarly readers alike....Allows readers to grasp the big picture of Western culture for the first time." SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE Here are the great minds of Western civilization and their pivotal ideas, from Plato to Hegel, from Augustine to Nietzsche, from Copernicus to Freud. Richard Tarnas performs the near-miracle of describing profound philosophical concepts simply but without simplifying them. Ten years in the making and already hailed as a classic, THE PASSION OF THE WESERN MIND is truly a complete liberal education in a single volume.
