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--Emphasizes the major interactions among different peoples and societies. 
  
 World History in Brief highlights key events in world history, giving adequate treatment to the major issues, while leaving time for analysis and use of supplemental materials for critical thinking. 
  
 Part of the Penguin Academics Series, the text takes a truly global approach by balancing coverage of individual societies and focusing on forces that cut across them. Students are encouraged to compare societies, assess changes in interactions, and understand global forces such as migration and technological exchange.
  
 The 8th edition is tied closely to MyHistoryLab to help save time and improve results. MyHistoryLab icons connect the main narrative to an array of MyHistoryLab resources, including primary source documents, analytical video segments, and interactive maps. 
  
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 Personalize Learning — The new MyHistoryLab delivers proven results in helping students succeed, provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals. 
 Improve Critical Thinking — Features at the beginning and end of each part help students make connections among the societies examined in the chapters.  
 Engage Students — “Solving Problems,” “History Debates,” and “World Profiles” features allow students to approach history from different angles.  
 Support Instructors — MyHistoryLab, an Instructor’s Resource Manual, a Test Bank, MyTest, PowerPoint presentations, a detailed timeline for each period covered in the text, and Class Preparation are available. 
 0205896308 / 9780205896301 World History in Brief: Major Patterns of Change and Continuity, Combined Volume, Penguin Academic Edition Plus NEW MyHistoryLab with eText -- Access Card Package 
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 0205939201 / 9780205939206 World History in Brief: Major Patterns of Change and Continuity, Combined Volume, Penguin Academic Edition
 
 
   
 For volume 1 of this text, search ISBN-10: 0205939368
 For volume 2 of this text, search ISBN-10: 0205939422
 
   
Table of Contents: 
Found in this Section:
 1. Brief Table of Contents
 2. Full Table of Contents 
  
 
 1. BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS
 List of Maps  
 List of Features  
 List of MyHistoryLab Documents
 Preface  
    
 PART I: EARLY WORLD HISTORY: FROM ORIGINS TO AGRICULTURE AND NEW FORMS OF HUMAN ORGANIZATION  
 Chapter 1: From Human Prehistory to the Rise of Agriculture  
 Chapter 2: Early Civilizations 3500–1000 B.C.E.  
 Chapter 3: Nomadic Societies  
  
 PART II: THE CLASSICAL PERIOD, 1000 B.C.E.–500 C.E.  
 Chapter 4: Classical Civilization: China  
 Chapter 5: Classical Civilization: India  
 Chapter 6: Classical Civilization in the Mediterranean and Middle East: Persia, Greece, and Rome  
 Chapter 7: The Classical Period: Directions, Diversities, and Declines by 500 C.E.  
  
 PART III: THE POSTCLASSICAL PERIOD, 500–1450 C.E.  
 Chapter 8: The Rise of Islam: Civilization in the Middle East  
 Chapter 9: India and Southeast Asia Under the Impact of Islam  
 Chapter 10: Africa and Islam  
 Chapter 11: East European Civilization: Byzantium and Russia  
 Chapter 12: Western Civilization: The Middle Ages  
 Chapter 13: China’s Impact and the Spread of East Asian Civilization  
 Chapter 14: Centers of Civilization in the Americas  
 Chapter 15: The Mongol Interlude and the End of the Postclassical Period  
  
 PART IV: A NEW WORLD ECONOMY, 1450–1750  
 Chapter 16: The West and the World: Discovery, Colonization, and Trade  
 Chapter 17: Western Civilization Changes Shape in the Early Modern Centuries  
 Chapter 18: The Rise of Russia  
 Chapter 19: The  Islamic Empires  
 Chapter 20: East Asia: Vital Trends in Politics and Trade  
    
 PART V: THE WORLD’S FIRST INDUSTRIAL PERIOD, 1750–1914  
 Chapter 21: The First Industrial Revolution: Western Society, 1780–1914  
 Chapter 22: World Economy and Western Imperialism: Africa and South Asia  
 Chapter 23: The Settler Societies: The West on Frontiers  
 Chapter 24: The Development of Latin American Civilization  
 Chapter 25: The Middle East and China in the Imperialist Century  
 Chapter 26: Russia and Japan: Industrialization Outside the West  
    
 PART VI: THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD, 1914 TO PRESENT  
 Chapter 27: The West in the Contemporary Period  
 Chapter 28: Russia and Eastern Europe 
 Chapter 29: East Asia in the 20th and Early 21st Centuries  
 Chapter 30: India and Southeast Asia  
 Chapter 31: Middle Eastern Civilization in the 20th Century  
 Chapter 32: Latin America in the 20th Century  
 Chapter 33: Sub-Saharan Africa: From Colonies to New Nations  
 Chapter 34: Themes in Contemporary World History: Into the 21st Century 
  
 Credits  
 Index  
 
 
   
 2. FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS
  
 List of Maps  
 List of Features  
 List of MyHistoryLab Documents
 Preface  
    
 PART I: EARLY WORLD HISTORY: FROM ORIGINS TO AGRICULTURE AND NEW FORMS OF HUMAN ORGANIZATION  
 Chapter 1: From Human Prehistory to the Rise of Agriculture  
 Getting Started Is Always Hard  
 Human Development and Change  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Dealing with Death  
 The Neolithic Revolution  
 HISTORY DEBATE People in the Americas  
 The Nature of Agricultural Societies  
 Agriculture and Change  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 2: Early Civilizations 3500–1000 B.C.E.  
 Civilization  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS The Use of Culture  
 Egypt and Mesopotamia Compared  
 HISTORY DEBATE Women in Patriarchal Societies  
 Transitions: The End of the River Valley Period  
 Indian and Chinese River Valley Civilizations  
 New States and Peoples Around 1000 B.C.E.  
 Judaism
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 3: Nomadic Societies  
 Early Nomadic Societies  
 Nomadic Society and Culture  
 Nomads and Civilizations  
 HISTORY DEBATE The Contributions of Nomads  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
 PART I RETROSPECTIVE The Rise of Agriculture and Agricultural Civilizations  
    
 PART II: THE CLASSICAL PERIOD, 1000 B.C.E.–500 C.E.  
 Chapter 4: Classical Civilization: China  
 Patterns in Classical China  
 Political Institutions  
 HISTORY DEBATE War  
 Religion and Culture  
 Economy and Society  
 WORLD PROFILES Ban Zhao (c. 48–117 C.E..)  
 A Distinctive Measure  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 5: Classical Civilization: India  
 The Framework for Indian History   
 Patterns in Classical India  
 Political Institutions  
 HISTORY DEBATE Interpreting Civilization, Round Two  
 Religion and Culture  
 Economy and Society  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Dealing with Inequality  
 Indian Influence  
 China and India  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
    
 Chapter 6: Classical Civilization in the Mediterranean and Middle East: Persia, Greece, and Rome  
 The Persian Tradition  
 Patterns of Greek History  
 Patterns of Roman History
 Greek and Roman Political Institutions  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Cultural Encounters  
 WORLD PROFILES Julius Caesar (100–44 B.C.E.)  
 Religion and Culture  
 Economy and Society in the Mediterranean  
 HISTORY DEBATE Mediterranean Civilization and “Western” Civilization  
 Toward the Fall of Rome  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 7: The Classical Period: Directions, Diversities, and Declines by 500 C.E.  
 Decline in China and India  
 Decline and Fall in Rome  
 The New Religious Map  
 HISTORY DEBATE Comparing Declines  
 WORLD PROFILES Saint Paul (Paul of Tarsus)  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
 PART II RETROSPECTIVE The Classical Period, 1000 B.C.E. to 500 C.E.  
  
 PART III: THE POSTCLASSICAL PERIOD, 500–1450 C.E.  
 Chapter 8: The Rise of Islam: Civilization in the Middle East  
 The Advent of Islam  
 WORLD PROFILES Muhammad (570–632 C.E.)  
 Patterns of Islamic History  
 Islamic Political Institutions  
 HISTORY DEBATE Political Implications of Islam  
 Islam and Middle Eastern Culture  
 WORLD PROFILES Omar Khayyam (c. 11th–12th Century)  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Religion and Trade  
 Economy and Society in the Middle East  
 The Decline of Middle Eastern Civilization  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 9: India and Southeast Asia Under the Impact of Islam  
 The Development of Indian Culture  
 HISTORY DEBATE The Caste System  
 The Muslim Challenge in India  
 Southeast Asia  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 10: Africa and Islam  
 Sub-Saharan Africa and the World Network  
 The Great Kingdoms  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Technology and Trade  
 WORLD PROFILES Sundiata  
 HISTORY DEBATE Handles for African History  
 Features of African Civilization  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 11: East European Civilization: Byzantium and Russia  
 The Byzantine Phase  
 WORLD PROFILES The Emperor Justinian (527–565 C.E.)  
 The Early Russian Phase: Kievan Rus’  
 HISTORY DEBATE A Russian Civilization?  
 East European Political Institutions  
 East European Religion and Culture  
 East European Economy and Society  
 East European Civilization in Eclipse  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 12: Western Civilization: The Middle Ages  
 Early Patterns in Western Civilization  
 Medieval Political Institutions  
 HISTORY DEBATE Homosexuality and Religion  
 Medieval Religion and Culture  
 Economy and Society  
 Women and Family Life  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Population Growth  
 Tensions in the Later Middle Ages  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 13: China’s Impact and the Spread of East Asian Civilization  
 Political and Cultural Developments in China  
 Economy and Society in China  
 Civilization in Korea, Vietnam, and Japan  
 HISTORY DEBATE  Defining Post-classical Civilizations  
 Culture, Society, and Economy in Japan  
 East Asian Self-Confidence  
 WORLD PROFILES  Mugai Nyodai  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 14: Centers of Civilization in the Americas  
 The Mayas and Aztecs  
 The Aztec Empire
 HISTORY DEBATE The Problem of Contacts  
 The Inca Empire
 Andean and Central American Societies
 Pacific Oceania
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 15: The Mongol Interlude and the End of the Postclassical Period  
 Mongol Empires  
 WORLD PROFILES Chabi Khan  
 China and the West as New World Powers  
 HISTORY DEBATE Causes of Global Change by 1450  
 The End of Transition: Postclassical to Early Modern  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
 PART III RETROSPECTIVE The Postclassical Period, 500–1450 C.E.  
  
 PART IV: A NEW WORLD ECONOMY, 1450–1750  
 Chapter 16: The West and the World: Discovery, Colonization, and Trade  
 Patterns of Exploration and Trade  
 HISTORY DEBATE Early Modern Stereotypes  
 Toward a World Economy  
 Africa  
 WORLD PROFILES Olandah Equiano  
 Colonization in Latin America: The Birth of a New Civilization  
 Latin American Civilization  
 WORLD PROFILES Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651–1695)  
 Western Civilization in North America  
 North and South America: Reasons for the Differences  
 The World Economy Revisited  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 17: Western Civilization Changes Shape in the Early Modern Centuries  
 Patterns of Early Modern Western History  
 Political Institutions and Ideas    
 The Ferment in Western Culture  
 Transformations in Economic and Social Life  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Dealing with the Asian Advantage  
 How Early Modern Trends in the West Interrelated  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 18: The Rise of Russia  
 Patterns of Early Modern Russian History  
 WORLD PROFILES Catherine the Great (1762–1796)  
 HISTORY DEBATE A Russian Civilization?  
 Russian Political Institutions  
 Russian Culture  
 Economy and Society in Russia  
 The World’s First Effort at Westernization  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 19: The  Islamic Empires  
 The Expanding Force of the Ottoman Empire  
  New Issues in the Ottoman Empire 
 The Safavid Challenge  
 HISTORY DEBATE Guns and Their Impact  
 The Mughal Empire: Invasion, Consolidation, and Decline  
 Western Intrusion into the Mughal Empire  
 The Rise and Decline of Asian Empires  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 20: East Asia: Vital Trends in Politics and Trade  
 China: The Resumption of the Dynasties  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Trying to Manage Food Supplies  
 Cultural and Social Patterns: New Issues  
 HISTORY DEBATE Chinese and Western Economies  
 Japan and the Origins of Isolation  
 WORLD PROFILES Toyotomi Hideyoshi (r. 1536–1548)  
 Vitality and Tension in East Asia  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
 PART IV RETROSPECTIVE A New World Economy, 1450–1750  
    
 PART V: THE WORLD’S FIRST INDUSTRIAL PERIOD, 1750–1914  
 Chapter 21: The First Industrial Revolution: Western Society, 1780–1914  
 Patterns of Industrialization  
 Causes of Industrialization  
 HISTORY DEBATE Consumerism and Industrialization  
 Effects of Industrialization  
 The Period of Revolution, 1789–1848  
 Effects of Revolution
 The Postrevolutionary Era and Nationalism, 1848–1871  
 “The Social Question,” 1871–1914  
 Western Political Institutions in the Industrial Revolution  
 WORLD PROFILES Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)  
 Western Culture in the Industrial Century  
 Industrial Society  
 HISTORY DEBATE Women in Industrial Society  
 Gain and Strain from Industrialization  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 22: World Economy and Western Imperialism: Africa and South Asia  
 The Reasons for Imperialism: Motives and Means  
 HISTORY DEBATE Causes of the Abolition of Slavery  
 Imperialism in India and Southeast Asia  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Railroads  
 Imperialism in Africa  
 WORLD PROFILES John Mensah Sarbah (1865–1910)  
 Comparing Colonies  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 23: The Settler Societies: The West on Frontiers  
 The United States  
 HISTORY DEBATE Exceptionalism  
 The Newer Settler Societies  
 WORLD PROFILES Hongi Hika  
 Special Features of Settler Societies  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 24: The Development of Latin American Civilization  
 The Wars of Independence  
 WORLD PROFILES Simón Bolívar (1783–1830)  
 The Period of Consolidation  
 Late-Century Trends: Dictatorship, Immigration, and Western Intervention  
 WORLD PROFILES Benito Juárez (1806–1872)  
 Political Institutions and Values  
 HISTORY DEBATE Is Latin America Western?  
 Culture and the Arts  
 Economy and Society  
 Tension and Creativity  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 25: The Middle East and China in the Imperialist Century  
 The Attempt to Modernize Egypt  
 Decline of the Ottoman Empire  
 The Rise of Nationalism  
 China Faces Imperialism  
 HISTORY DEBATE China’s 19th-Century Sluggishness  
 The Need for Further Change  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 26: Russia and Japan: Industrialization Outside the West  
 Russian Conservatism: An Alternative to the West  
 The Beginnings of Russian Industrialization  
 The Foundations of Revolution in Russia  
 The Culture of Eastern Europe  
 HISTORY DEBATE The Preconditions for Revolution  
 The Opening of Trade in Japan  
 Japanese Industrialization in Response to the West  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Maintaining Identity  
 Cultural and Economic Effects of Japanese Industrialization  
 Japan as an International Player  
 The Strain of Modernization  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
 PART V RETROSPECTIVE  The End of the Long 19th Century 
    
 PART VI: THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD, 1914 TO PRESENT  
 Chapter 27: The West in the Contemporary Period  
 Patterns of Western History: 1914–1945  
 Patterns of Western History: 1945 to the Present  
 Western Political Institutions in the 20th Century  
 HISTORY DEBATE Convergence  
 Contemporary Western Culture  
 Economy and Society  
 WORLD PROFILES Simone de Beauvoir  
 A Postindustrial Age?  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 28: Russia and Eastern Europe 
 The Russian Revolution  
 HISTORY DEBATE Women and the Russian Revolution  
 Patterns of Soviet History After 1923  
 Soviet Political Institutions  
 Soviet Culture  
 Economy and Society  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Updating the Treatment of Children  
 The Explosion of the 1980s  
 Dismantling the Soviet Empire  
 Renewed Turmoil After 1991  
 Tradition and Change in Eastern Europe  
 Russia and the West in Comparative Analysis  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 29: East Asia in the 20th and Early 21st Centuries  
 A Clash of Cultures: Revolution and War  
 HISTORY DEBATE Japan and Westernization  
 Return to Stability in Japan  
 Upheaval and Ongoing Revolution in China  
 East Asia Toward the End of the Century  
 Japan, Incorporated  
 WORLD PROFILES Sun Zhongshan (1867–1925)  
 The Pacific Rim  
 China Under Communism  
 East Asia and the World  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 30: India and Southeast Asia  
 The Rise of Nationalism  
 Gandhi’s Nonviolent Strategies  
 WORLD PROFILES  Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948)
 Nationalism in Southeast Asia  
 Decolonization After the War  
 Southeast Asia After Independence  
 India and Pakistan  
 HISTORY DEBATE Women’s Conditions in India  
 India and China  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 31: Middle Eastern Civilization in the 20th Century  
 Replacing the Ottoman Empire  
 Assertions of Arab Nationalism  
 The New Role of the State  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Reviving Religion in Contemporary History  
 The Rise of Fundamentalism  
 HISTORY DEBATE Terrorism  
 Middle Eastern Culture and Society  
 New Tensions in the Early 2000s  
 A Troubled Region  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 32: Latin America in the 20th Century  
 Latin America in 20th-Century World History  
 The Mexican Revolution, 1910–1920s  
 Effects of the Depression, 1930s–1950s  
 Revolution and Response, 1950s–1990s  
 Latin American Culture  
 SOLVING PROBLEMS Adapting Consumer Values  
 Economy and Society  
 HISTORY DEBATE Latin America and the Third World  
 Toward a Greater World Role?  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 33: Sub-Saharan Africa: From Colonies to New Nations  
 Emerging Nationalism, 1918 - 1950  
 The Transformation to Independence  
 The Challenges of New Nationhood  
 African Politics  
 African Cultures  
 HISTORY DEBATE The Question of Identity  
 Economy and Society  
 Defining the New Africa  
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
  
 Chapter 34: Themes in Contemporary World History: Into the 21st Century 
 After the Cold War  
 HISTORY DEBATE 20th and 21st Centuries—Change or Continuity  
 Global Industrialization
 Globalization
 Global Warming and a Planet in Peril
 The Spread of Democracy
 Nationalism and Religious Currents
 Projecting from Trends
 Paths to the Present  
 Key Terms
 Suggested Readings
 MyHistoryLab Media Assignments
 PART VI RETROSPECTIVE The Contemporary World  
  
 Credits  
 Index 
About the Author : 
Peter N. Stearns is Provost and University Professor at George Mason University. He has taught previously at Harvard, the University of Chicago, Rutgers, and Carnegie Mellon; he was educated at Harvard University. He has published widely in modern social history, including the history of emotions, and in world history. Representative works in world history include World History: A Survey, The Industrial Revolution in World History, Gender in World History, Consumerism in World History>, Human Rights in World History, and Growing Up: The History of Childhood in Global Context. His publications in social history include Old Age in Preindustrial Society, Anxious Parents: A History of Modern American Childrearing, American Cool: Developing the Twentieth-Century Emotional Style, Fat History: Bodies and Beauty in Western Society, American Fear: The Causes and Consequences of High Anxiety, Revolutions in Sorrow: A History of American Experiences and Policies Toward Death in Global Context, From Alienation to Addiction: Modern American Work in Global Historical Perspective, Educating Global Citizens in Colleges and Universities: Challenges and Opportunities, and Satisfaction Not Guaranteed: Dilemmas of Progress in Modern Society. While under Dr. Stearns’s leadership, George Mason University was awarded the 2006 Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education. He has also edited encyclopedias of world and social history, and since 1967, he has served as editor-in-chief of The Journal of Social History. In most of his research and writing, Dr. Stearns pursues three main goals. First, as a social historian, he is eager to explore aspects of the human experience that are not generally thought of in historical terms, and with attention to ordinary people as well as elites. Second, he seeks to use an understanding of historical change and continuity to explore patterns of behavior and social issues. Finally, he is concerned with connecting new historical research with wider audiences, including of course classrooms. Dr. Stearns is also eager to promote comparative analysis and the assessment of modern global forces—for their own sake and as they illuminate the American experience and impact.
Review : 
“This is a high quality, affordable text that has very strong instructor resources.”
  -Kristopher Treat, Arizona State University
  
 “I…really appreciate the instructor's manual and the way the book highlights themes and key questions. These additional aids facilitate covering a lot of material quickly but coherently.”
  -Kathleen Parrow, Black Hills State University 
  
 “Its brevity allows me to expect students will read everything, while it is still a good text despite being so brief.”
  -Matthew Stanard, Berry College
  
 “The brief version works well for a one-semester course…Stearns does not get bogged down in the details; he presents a broad overview of critical points and cultural traits.”
  -Terry Reynolds, Michigan Technological University