Western Civilization: A Brief History emphasizes the history of ideas presented within a political chronology. Perry's distinctive writing style and unique approach make this abridged version of Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics & Society an engaging text for the Western civilization survey course. The Fifth Edition includes coverage of recent events and provides students with the pedagogical tools to analyze and interpret events in context. Chapter introductions and chronologies allow students to easily identify important themes, while review questions serve to reinforce knowledge and aid in exam preparation.
WESTERN CIVILIZATION: A BRIEF HISTORY, International Edition, maintains a firm grounding in political history, while covering intellectual history (particularly the significance of ideas and contributions) to a greater and deeper extent than any other text for the course. Author Marvin Perry’s accessible writing style and flexible approach make this abridged version of WESTERN CIVILIZATION: IDEAS, POLITICS, AND SOCIETY an engaging Western Civilization survey text. Updated with more recent scholarship, the Tenth Edition retains many popular features, including comparative timelines, full-color art essays, and primary source boxes in each chapter. New technology resources (available separately), including CourseMate with interactive eBook, make learning more engaging and bring history concepts to life.
This engaging yet deeply informed work not only examines Roman history and the multitude of Roman achievements in rich and colorful detail but also delineates their crucial and lasting impact on Western civilization. Noted historian Carl J. Richard argues that although we Westerners are "all Greeks" in politics, science, philosophy, and literature and "all Hebrews" in morality and spirituality, it was the Romans who made us Greeks and Hebrews. As the author convincingly shows, from the Middle Ages on, most Westerners received Greek ideas from Roman sources. Similarly, when the Western world adopted the ethical monotheism of the Hebrews, it did so at the instigation of a Roman citizen named Paul, who took advantage of the peace, unity, stability, and roads of the empire to proselytize the previously pagan Gentiles, who quickly became a majority of the religion's adherents. Although the Roman government of the first century crucified Christ and persecuted Christians, Rome's fourth- and fifth-century leaders encouraged the spread of Christianity throughout the Western world. In addition to making original contributions to administration, law, engineering, and architecture, the Romans modified and often improved the ideas they assimilated. Without the Roman sense of social responsibility to temper the individualism of Hellenistic Greece, classical culture might have perished, and without the Roman masses to proselytize and the social and material conditions necessary to this evangelism, Christianity itself might not have survived.
The Essential Guide to Western Civilization offers a concise overview of European history developed to suit the undergraduate Western Civilization curriculum. Author Nicholas L. Waddy provides an accessible account of major developments in European history in a flexible format. The book will serve as a core text for instructors wishing to build a syllabus including primary sources, articles, and visual materials of their own choosing. Discussion questions and a list of key terms at the end of each chapter will help to guide conversation and assist students in navigating the Western Civilization survey.
WESTERN CIVILIZATION: IDEAS, POLITICS, AND SOCIETY, Eleventh Edition, maintains a firm grounding in political history, while covering intellectual history (particularly the significance of ideas and contributions) to greater and deeper extent than any other text for the course. Known for its accessible writing style, this text appeals to students and instructors alike for its brevity, clarity, and careful selection of content-including material on religion and philosophy. Updated with more recent scholarship, the eleventh edition retains many popular features, including comparative timelines, full-color art essays, and profile and primary source excerpts in each chapter. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.
Becoming Civilized? A History of the Western World to 1600 traces the history of the western world through primary sources that reveal to readers what each society or culture thought of as civilized behavior or a civilized way of life. Readers will see how views of civilized behavior changed over time and across cultures, yet retained certain common elements and themes. Becoming Civilized teaches students much more than key terms, events, dates, places, and people. Through thoughtful evaluation and interpretation of visual and written sources, the material also teaches students that history is more than a collection of facts. By asking them to consider the very definition of civilization and how it is manifested, it teaches them that the study of history involves interpreting and weighing historical evidence. Developed for basic history survey courses, Becoming Civilized provides readers with the basic building blocks of history, while also helping them develop their abilities to engage in detailed analysis and critical thinking. Becoming Civilized is an excellent instructional tool for courses in western civilization or surveys of European history before 1600. Born in the United Kingdom, Graham Wrightson earned his undergraduate degree at Cambridge University and his Ph.D. in Greek and Near East history at the University of Calgary. Dr. Wrightson is now an assistant professor of history at South Dakota State University, where he regularly teaches courses on western civilization, ancient Greece and Rome, medieval Europe, and women in antiquity. His research interests include the military and Hellenism in Greek history, Roman Republican history, military manuals, and conquest societies. Dr. Wrightson is a member of the Association of Ancient Historians and the Society for Classical Studies.
Sources of the West is a collection of excerpts from primary source documents designed to supplement textbooks and lectures in the teaching of Western Civilization. These documents are the source material historians use to construct their accounts and interpretations of history. As they examine these source materials, students learn to think historically - to examine the ideas of others, to understand past experiences on others' terms, to recognize other points of view.
From the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower “A dazzling history of Western ideas.” —The Economist “Mr. Ferguson tells his story with characteristic verve and an eye for the felicitous phrase.” —Wall Street Journal “[W]ritten with vitality and verve . . . a tour de force.” —Boston Globe Western civilization’s rise to global dominance is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five centuries. How did the West overtake its Eastern rivals? And has the zenith of Western power now passed? Acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson argues that beginning in the fifteenth century, the West developed six powerful new concepts, or “killer applications”—competition, science, the rule of law, modern medicine, consumerism, and the work ethic—that the Rest lacked, allowing it to surge past all other competitors. Yet now, Ferguson shows how the Rest have downloaded the killer apps the West once monopolized, while the West has literally lost faith in itself. Chronicling the rise and fall of empires alongside clashes (and fusions) of civilizations, Civilization: The West and the Rest recasts world history with force and wit. Boldly argued and teeming with memorable characters, this is Ferguson at his very best.
This survey text presents the Western intellectual tradition within a chronology of political history. Known for its accessible writing style, Western Civilization appeals to students and instructors alike for its brevity, clarity, and careful selection of content. New technology resources, including Houghton Mifflin's Eduspace course management system, make learning more engaging and instruction more efficient.In the Eighth Edition, several new pedagogical features support students throughout the term. Chapter-opening focus questions direct students to important themes, while a glossary reinforces key terms and concepts. New icons in the text direct students to online resources such as maps, primary sources, and practice test questions. In addition, the new edition retains many popular features, including comparative timelines, full-color maps with physical geography essays, and primary source excerpts.
Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy. For more than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat of Christian civilization. When Europe fell into the Dark Ages, Byzantium held fast against Muslim expansion, keeping Christianity alive. Streams of wealth flowed into Constantinople, making possible unprecedented wonders of art and architecture. And the emperors who ruled Byzantium enacted a saga of political intrigue and conquest as astonishing as anything in recorded history. Lost to the West is replete with stories of assassination, mass mutilation and execution, sexual scheming, ruthless grasping for power, and clashing armies that soaked battlefields with the blood of slain warriors numbering in the tens of thousands.
