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World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Combined Volume, 5/E
Peter N. Stearns, George Mason University
Michael Adas, Rutgers University
Stuart B. Schwartz, Yale University
Marc Jason Gilbert, North Georgia College and State University

ISBN-10: 0321391926
ISBN-13: 9780321391926

Publisher: Prentice Hall
Copyright: 2007
Format: Cloth; 1088 pp
Published: 07/18/2006

Suggested retail price: $132.00
Not available for purchase at this time.

The primary goal of World Civilizations is to present a truly global history–since the development of agriculture and herding to the present. Using a unique periodization, this book divides the main periods of human history according to changes in the nature and extent of global contacts.


This global world history text emphasizes the major stages in the interactions among different peoples and societies, while also assessing the development of major societies.  Presenting social and cultural as well as political and economic aspects, the book examines key civilizations in world history.  World Civilizations balances this discussion of independent developments in the world's major civilizations with comparative analysis of the results of global contact.

  • Unique periodization offers a coherent and comprehensible framework for organizing the study of world history.  Six distinct eras of world history are defined primarily by the nature and extent of global interaction and contact among all or most civilizations during the particular time period. The six periods correspond to the six parts of the book. Within each part, the authors identify specific themes that characterize common experiences or common forces in individual societies as well as the kinds, patterns, and extent of global contacts that emerged during the era. Thus, for example, Part I of the book discusses the developmental stage of world history, including the rise of agriculture and the emergence of civilization; Part II examines the classical era in global history, an era marked by the integration of large regions and diverse groups of people through overarching cultural and political systems.
  • Global Connections: Concluding sections at the end of each chapter reiterate the chapter themes and issues and relate the developments discussed in the chapter to the rest of the world, thus underscoring the importance and relevance of the chapter material to the totality of global history.
  • “In Depth” boxes offer an examination of a historical development related to the chapter's focus, extending across chronological and geographical boundaries.  Critical thinking questions at the end of each In Depth section encourage students to think beyond the “who, what, where, and when” of historical events and to consider instead the far-reaching implications of historical developments.
  • Document Excerpts. Substantial excerpts from selected documents give students meaningful and representative samples of primary source material. Critical Thinking Questions following each document probe student understanding of the material and encourage interpretive reflection and analysis.
  • “On the Web.” This list of multiple and high-interest Web sites complements each chapter and identifies sites students can examine for additional information or insight on the chapter's topics.  Annotations indicate what particular information or material students can find on each site.
  • Glossary with Pronunciation Guide helps students develop their global vocabulary and understanding of world history by defining key conceptual terms, frequently used foreign terms, important geographical regions, and key players on the world stage.
  • “Visualizing the Past” boxes support visual literacy by showing students how to read and analyze graphic material such as maps, charts, and graphs. Each box includes questions to guide students through the analysis, both of the material and its graphic presentation. 
  • Part-opening Timelines identify key events and developments of the era under discussion.
  • Chapter time lines highlight important events and trends of the period covered in the chapter.

  • Part-opening Essays, wholly rewritten, discuss the conditions that set the stage for the developments that define each new period in world history, identify the characteristics that define the new period, and recap the continuities that exist from one period to the next.  A counterpoint to the account of the broad changes in each period is a focus on some aspect of ordinary human experience or daily life (such as old age, childhood, work, or leisure) and how it changed during the period.  Two world maps at the beginning of each part-opening essay present a graphic representation of the major changes of the period.
  • Part Retrospectives, at the close of each Part, recap the dominant cross-civilizational (or cross-regional) contacts and divisions in the world's societies that occurred during the era.
  • All new chapter opening vignettes tell a compelling story about some individual or event to spark some students' interest and introduce them to chapter material in an engaging way.
  • Major innovation in the color and production values of the text for greater visual appeal.
  • Twentieth century materials have been substantially revised, with particular attention to greater clarity and emphasis on the end of the Cold War and ensuing developments, and the emergence of globalization and resistance to globalization.  The book offers extensive opportunity to discuss major developments in the contemporary era, from World War I onward, and to link them, by way of changes and continuities, to earlier stages of world history.
  • Revisions of all chapters, including updates on further reading and websites.

PART I

FROM HUNTING AND GATHERING TO CIVILIZATIONS, 2.5 MILLION-1000 B.C.E.: ORIGINS

CHAPTER 1    The Neolithic Revolution and the Birth of Civilization

A Hunter

Human Life in the Era of Hunters and Gatherers

Document: Tales of the Hunt: Paleolithic Cave Paintings as History

Agriculture and the Origins of Civilization: The Neolithic Revolution

Visualizing the Past Representations of Women in Early Art

In Depth: The Idea of Civilization in World Historical Perspective

The First Towns: Seedbeds of Civilization

Global Connections: The Neolithic Revolution as a Basis for World History

CHAPTER 2    The Rise of Civilization in the Middle East and Africa

Women in Mesopotamia and Egypt

Setting the Scene: The Middle East by 4000 b.c.e.

Civilization in Mesopotamia

Visualizing the Past: Mesopotamia in Maps

Document: Hammurabi’s Law Code

Ancient Egypt

Egypt and Mesopotamia Compared

In Depth: Women in Patriarchal Societies

Civilization Centers in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean

The Issue of Heritage

Global Connections: The Early Civilizations and the World

CHAPTER 3    Asia’s First Civilizations: India and China

The Indus Valley and the Birth of South Asian Civilization

Aryan Incursions and Early Aryan Society in India

Document: Aryan Poetry in Praise of a War-Horse

A Bend in the River and the Beginnings of China

Visualizing the Past: Mapping the Rise of Civilizations

The Decline of the Shang and the Era of Zhou Dominance

In Depth: The Legacy of Asia’s First Civilizations

Global Connections: Contrasting Legacies: Indus and Early Chinese Civilizations

PART II

THE CLASSICAL PERIOD, 1000 BCE—500 CE:UNITING LARGE REGIONS

CHAPTER 4   Unification and the Consolidation of Civilization in China

Philosophical Remedies for the Prolonged Crisis the Later Zhou

Document: Teachings of the Rival Chinese Schools

The Triumph of the Qin and Imperial Unity

In Depth: Sunzi and the Shift from Ritual Combatto “Real” War

The Han Dynasty and the Foundations of China’s Classical Age

Visualizing the Past: Capital Designs and Patterns of Political Power

Global Connections: Classical China and the World

CHAPTER 5    Classical Civilization in the Eastern Mediterranean: Persia and Greece

The First Marathon

The Persian Empire: Parallel Power in the Middle East

The Political Character of Classical Greece

The Hellenistic Period

Creativity in Greek and Hellenistic Culture

Document: The Power of Greek Drama

Patterns of Greek and Hellenistic Society

In Depth: Defining Social History

Visualizing the Past: Commerce and Society

Global Connections: Greece and the World

CHAPTER 6    Religious Rivalries and India’s Golden Age

The Age of Brahman Dominance

In Depth: Inequality as the Social Norm

Religious Ferment and the Rise of Buddhism

Brahmanical Recovery and the Splendors of the Gupta Age

Visualizing the Past: The Pattern of Trade in the Ancient Eurasian World

Document: A Guardian’s Farewell Speech to a Young Woman About to Be Married

Global Connections: India and the Wider World

CHAPTER 7  Rome and Its Empire

Roman Legions and Army Life

The Development of Rome’s Republic

Roman Culture

Document: Rome and a Values Crisis

The Institutions of Empire

The Evolution of Rome’s Economic and Social Structure

Visualizing the Past: Religions in Rome

In Depth: The Classical Civilizations in Comparative Perspective

The Origins of Christianity

The Decline of Rome

Global Connections: Rome and the World

Chapter 8      The Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas

Origins of American Societies

Spread of Civilization in Mesoamerica

Document: Deciphering the Maya Glyphs

The Peoples to the North

In Depth: Different Times for Different Peoples

The Andean World

Visualizing the Past: Ancient Agriculture

Global Connections: American Civilizations and the World

Chapter 9  The Spread of Civilizations and the Movement of Peoples

The Spread of Civilization in Africa

Document: Myths of Origin

In Depth: Language as a Historical Source

Nomadic Societies and Indo-European Migrations

Visualizing the Past: Varieties of Human Adaptation and the Potential for Civilization

The Spread of Chinese Civilization to Japan

The Scattered Societies of Polynesia

Global Connections: The Emerging Cultures

CHAPTER 10  The End of the Classical Era: World History in Transition, 200—700 c.e.

Change in the Indian Ocean

Upheavals in Eastern and Southern Asia

Document: The Popularization of Buddhism

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

In Depth: The Problem of Decline and Fall

The Development and Spread of World Religions

Visualizing the Past: Religious Geography

Global Connections: The Late Classical Period and the World

PART III

THE POSTCLASSICAL PERIOD, 500-1450: NEW FAITH AND NEW COMMERCE

CHAPTER 11  The First Global Civilization: The Rise and Spread of Islam

Desert and Town: The Arabian World and the Birth of Islam

The Life of Muhammad and the Genesis of Islam

The Arab Empire of the Umayyads

In Depth: Civilization and Gender Relationships

From Arab to Islamic Empire: The Early Abbasid Era

Document: The Thousand and One Nights as a Mirror of Elite Society in the Abbasid Era

Visualizing the Past: The Mosque as a Symbol of Islamic Civilization

Global Connections: Early Islam and the World

CHAPTER 12  Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islamic Civilization to South and Southeast Asia

The Islamic Heartlands in the Middle and Late Abbasid Eras

Document:Ibn Khaldun on the Rise and Decline of Empires

An Age of Learning and Artistic Refinements

Visualizing the Past:The Patterns of Islam’s Global Expansion

The Coming of Islam to South Asia

The Spread of Islam to Southeast Asia

In Depth:Conversion and Accommodation in the Spread of World Religions

Global Connections:Islam: A Bridge Between Worlds

CHAPTER 13  African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam

African Societies: Diversity and Similarities

Kingdoms of the Grasslands

Document:The Great Oral Tradition and the Epic of Sundiata

The Swahili Coast of East Africa

In Depth:Two Transitions in the History of World Population

Peoples of the Forest and Plains

Global Connections:Internal Development and Global Contacts

CHAPTER 14  Civilization in Eastern Europe: Byzantium and Orthodox Europe

Russia Chooses a Religion

The Byzantine Empire

Visualizing the Past:Women and Power in Byzantium

The Spread of Civilization in Eastern Europe

Document:Russia Turns to Christianity

In Depth:Eastern and Western Europe: The Problem of Boundaries

Global Connections:Eastern Europe and the World

CHAPTER 15  A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe

A Merchant Becomes a Saint

Stages of Postclassical Development

In Depth:Western Civilization

Western Culture in the Postclassical Era

Changing Economic and Social Forms in the Postclassical Centuries

Visualizing the Past:Peasant Labor

Document:Changing Roles for Women

The Decline of the Medieval Synthesis

Global Connections:Medieval Europe and the World

CHAPTER 16  The Americas on the Eve of Invasion

Postclassic Mesoamerica, 1000—1500 c.e.

Aztec Society in Transition

Document:Aztec Women and Men

In Depth:The “Troubling” Civilizations of the Americas

Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas

Visualizing the Past:Archeological Evidence of Political Practices

The Other Indians

Global Connections:The Americas and the World

CHAPTER 17  Reunification and Renaissance in Chinese Civilization: The Era of the Tang and Song Dynasties

Rebuilding the Imperial Edifice in the Sui-Tang Era

Document:Ties That Bind: Paths to Power

Tang Decline and the Rise of the Song

Tang and Song Prosperity: The Basis of a Golden Age

In Depth:Artistic Expression and Social Values

Global Connections:China’s World Role

CHAPTER 18  The Spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

Japan: The Imperial Age

The Era of Warrior Dominance

In Depth:Comparing Feudalisms

Korea: Between China and Japan

Between China and Southeast Asia: The Making of Vietnam

Visualizing the Past:What Their Portraits Tell Us: Gatekeeper Elites and the Persistence of Civilizations

Document:Literature as a Mirror of the Exchanges Between Civilized Centers

Global Connections:In the Orbit of China: The East Asian Corner of the Global System

CHAPTER 19  The Last Great Nomadic Challenges: From Chinggis Khan to Timur

The Mongol Empire of Chinggis Khan

Document: A European Assessment of the Virtues and Vices of the Mongols

The Mongol Drive to the West

Visualizing the Past:The Mongol Empire as a Bridge Between Civilizations

The Mongol Interlude in Chinese History

In Depth:The Eclipse of the Nomadic War Machine

Global Connections:The Mongol Linkages

CHAPTER 20  The West and the Changing World Balance

The Compass: A New Sense of Direction

The Decline of the Old Order

The Rise of the West

Visualizing the Past:Population Trends

Document:Italian Renaissance Culture

Western Expansion: The Experimental Phase

Outside the World Network

In Depth:The Problem of Ethnocentrism

Global Connections:1450 and the World

PART IV

THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD, 1450-1750: THE WORLD SHRINKS

CHAPTER 21  The World Economy

The West’s First Outreach: Maritime Power

In Depth:Causation and the West’s Expansion

Toward a World Economy

Visualizing the Past:West Indian Slaveholding

Colonial Expansion

Document:Western Conquerors: Tactics and Motives

Global Connections:The World Economy–and the World

CHAPTER 22  The Transformation of the West, 1450—1750

Changes in Childhood

The First Big Changes: Culture and Commerce, 1450-1650

Science and Politics: The Next Phase of Change

Visualizing the Past:Versailles

In Depth:Elites and Masses

The West by 1750

Document:Controversies About Women

Global Connections:Europe and the World

CHAPTER 23  The Rise of Russia

New Tsars and Their Claims

Russia’s Expansionist Politics Under the Tsars

Russia’s First Westernization, 1690—1790

Document:The Nature of Westernization

Themes in Early Modern Russian History

Visualizing the Past:Oppressed Peasants

In Depth:Multinational Empires

Global Connections:Russia and the World

CHAPTER 24  Early Latin America

Spaniards and Portuguese: From Reconquest to Conquest

Document:A Vision from the Vanquished

The Destruction and Transformation of American Indian Societies

In Depth:The Great Exchange

Colonial Economies and Governments

Brazil: The First Plantation Colony

Multiracial Societies

Visualizing the Past:Race or Culture? A Changing Society

The 18th-Century Reforms

Global Connections:Latin American Civilization and the World Context

CHAPTER 25  Africa and the Africans in the Age of the Atlantic Slave Trade

The Atlantic Slave Trade

African Societies, Slavery, and the Slave Trade

Visualizing the Past:Symbols of African Kingship

White Settlers and Africans in Southern Africa

In Depth:Slavery and Human Society

The African Diaspora

Document:An African’s Description of the Middle Passage

Global Connections:Africa and the African Diaspora in World Context

CHAPTER 26  The Muslim Empires

The Ottomans: From Frontier Warriors to Empire Builders

Document:An Islamic Traveler Laments the Muslims’ Indifference to Europe

The Shi’a Challenge of the Safavids

In Depth:The Gunpowder Empires and the Shifting Balance of Global Power

The Mughals and the Apex of Muslim Civilization in India

Visualizing the Past:The Basis of Imperial Power in the Rival Muslim Empires

Global Connections:Gunpowder Empires and the Restoration of the Islamic Bridge Between Civilizations

CHAPTER 27  Asian Transitions in an Age of Global Change

The Asian Trading World and the Coming of the Europeans

Visualizing the Past:Intruders: The Pattern of Early European Expansion into Asia

Ming China: A Global Mission Refused

Document:Exam Questions as a Mirror of Chinese Values

In Depth:Means and Motives for Overseas Expansion: Europe and China Compared

Fending Off the West: Japan’s Reunification and the First Challenge

Global Connections:An Age of Eurasian Closure

PART V

THE DAWN OF THE INDUSTRIAL AGE, 1750-1914

CHAPTER 28  The Emergence of Industrial Society in the West, 1750—1914

The Age of Revolution

Visualizing the Past: The French Revolution in Cartoons

The Consolidation of the Industrial Order, 1850—1914

Document: Women in the Industrial Revolution

Cultural Transformations

Western Settler Societies

In Depth: The United States in World History

Diplomatic Tensions and World War I

Global Connections:Industrial Europe and the World

CHAPTER 29  Industrialization and Imperialism: The Making of the European Global Order

The Shift to Land Empires in Asia

In Depth:Western Education and the Rise of an African and Asian Middle Class

Industrial Rivalries and the Partition of the World, 1870-1914

Patterns of Dominance: Continuity and Change

Visualizing the Past:Capitalism and Colonialism

Document:Contrary Images: The Colonizer Versus the Colonized on the “Civilizing Mission”

Global Connections:A European-Dominated World Order

CHAPTER 30  The Consolidation of Latin America, 1830—1920

From Colonies to Nations

New Nations Confront Old and New Problems

Document:Confronting the Hispanic Heritage: From Independence to Consolidation

Latin American Economies and World Markets, 1820—1870

Societies in Search of Themselves

In Depth:Explaining Underdevelopment

The Great Boom, 1880—1920

Global Connections:New Latin American Nations and the World

CHAPTER 31  Civilizations in Crisis: The Ottoman Empire, the Islamic Heartlands, and Qing China

From Empire to Nation: Ottoman Retreat and the Birth of Turkey

In Depth:Western Dominance and the Decline of Civilizations

Western Intrusions and the Crisis in the Arab Islamic Heartlands

The Last Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Qing Empire in China

Document:Building a New China

Global Connections:Muslim and Chinese Decline and a Shifting Global Balance

CHAPTER 32  Russia and Japan: Industrialization Outside the West

Reforming Within Tradition: Yukichi Fukuzawa

Signs of Change in Russia and Japan

Russia’s Reforms and Industrial Advance

Document:Conditions for Factory Workers in Russia’s Industrialization

Protest and Revolution in Russia

Japan: Transformation Without Revolution

In Depth:The Separate Paths of Japan and China

Visualizing the Past:Two Faces of Western Influence

Global Connections:Russia and Japan in the World

PART VI

THE NEWEST STAGE OF WORLD HISTORY: 1914 -PRESENT

CHAPTER 33  Descent into the Abyss: World War I and the Crisis of the European Global Order

The Coming of the Great War

A World at War

Visualizing the Past:Trench Warfare

Failed Peace

World War I and the Nationalist Assault on the European Colonial Order

Document:Lessons for the Colonized from the Slaughter in the Trenches

In Depth:Women in Asian and African Nationalist Movements

Global Connections:World War and Global Upheavals

CHAPTER 34  The World Between the Wars: Revolutions, Depression, and Authoritarian Response

A Communist Dilemma

The “Roaring Twenties”

Revolution: The First Waves

In Depth:A Century of Revolutions

The Global Great Depression

The Authoritarian Response

Document:Socialist Realism

Visualizing the Past:Socialist Realism

Global Connections:Depression, Authoritarian Response and Retreat

CHAPTER 35  A Second Global Conflict and the End of the European World Order

Old and New Causes of a Second World War

Unchecked Aggression and the Coming of War in Europe and the Pacific

In Depth: Total War

The Conduct of a Second Global War

Document: Japan and the Loss in World War II

War’s End and the Emergence of the Superpower Standoff

Nationalism and Decolonization

Visualizing the Past: On National Leadership

Global Connections: Persisting Trends in a World Transformed by War

CHAPTER 36  Western Society and Eastern Europe in the Decades of the Cold War

World Opinion and the Bomb

After World War II: A New International Setting for the West

The Resurgence of Western Europe

In Depth:The United States and Western Europe: Convergence and Complexity

Cold War Allies: The United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

Culture and Society in the West

Visualizing the Past:Women at Work in France and the United States

Eastern Europe After World War II: A Soviet Empire

Soviet Culture: Promoting New Beliefs and Institutions

Document:1986: A New Wave of Soviet Reform

Global Connections:The Cold War and the World

CHAPTER 37  Latin America: Revolution and Reaction into the 21st Century

Latin America After World War II

Radical Options in the 1950s

Visualizing the Past:Murals and Posters: Art and Revolution

The Search for Reform and the Military Option

Document:The People Speak

In Depth:Human Rights in the 20th Century

Societies in Search of Change

Global Connections:Struggling Toward the Future in a Global Economy

CHAPTER 38  Africa, the Middle East, and Asia in the Era of Independence

The Challenges of Independence

In Depth: Artificial Nations and the Rising Tide of Communal Strife

Document: Cultural Creativity in the Emerging Nations: Some Literary Samples

Paths to Economic Growth and Social Justice

Visualizing the Past:Globalization and Postcolonial Societies

Global Connections:Postcolonial Nations in the Cold War World Order

CHAPTER 39  Rebirth and Revolution: Nation-building in East Asia and the Pacific Rim

East Asia in the Postwar Settlements

Japan, Incorporated

The Pacific Rim: New Japans?

Visualizing the Past:Pacific Rim Growth

In Depth: The Pacific Rim as a U.S. Policy Issue

Mao’s China and Beyond

Document:Women in the Revolutionary Struggle

Colonialism and Revolution in Vietnam

Global Connections:East Asia and the Pacific Rim in the Contemporary World

CHAPTER 40  The End of the Cold War and the Shape of a New Era: World History 1990—2006

Democracy and Human Rights

The End of the Cold War

The Spread of Democracy

Document: China and Democracy

The Great Powers and New Disputes

The United States as Superpower

In Depth: Terrorism Then and Now

Global Connections:New Global Standards, New Divisions

CHAPTER 41  Globalization and Resistance: World History 1990—2006

Combining the Global and the Traditional

Globalization: Causes and Processes

In Depth: How Much Historical Change?

Document: Protests Against Globalization

Resistance and Alternatives

The Global Environment

Toward the Future

Global Connections:Civilizations and Global Forces

    With 83 additional outline and four-color maps, World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Fifth Edition, Atlas Edition, helps students with geography, one of the most difficult aspects of World history courses for many. The maps are accompanied by review questions that call on students to identify important geographical areas and think critically about the connection between geography and historical events. The maps are on perforated pages and are organized by chapter so that they can be assigned easily and collected.

    The primary goal of World Civilizations is to present a truly global history–since the development of agriculture and herding to the present. Using a unique periodization, this book divides the main periods of human history according to changes in the nature and extent of global contacts.


    This global world history text emphasizes the major stages in the interactions among different peoples and societies, while also assessing the development of major societies.  Presenting social and cultural as well as political and economic aspects, the book examines key civilizations in world history.  World Civilizations balances this discussion of independent developments in the world's major civilizations with comparative analysis of the results of global contact.

  • 0205556906World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Combined Volume, Atlas Edition, 5/E
    Stearns, Adas, Schwartz & Gilbert
    © 2007 | Prentice Hall | Cloth; 1168 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0205556906 | ISBN-13: 9780205556908
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore