"I wish I knew more about Western history." Adult, parent, student, and traveler: Who of us hasn't had this thought? Sara Drogin, a veteran high-school history teacher, addresses this wish with Spare Me the Details!, a "refresher text" for adults and students. Written in a lively and conversational style, Spare Me the Details! provides a concise overview of Western civilization. Spare Me the Details! begins with Ancient Greece and concludes with the twenty-first century. The book describes the key periods, events, and luminaries of Western history, provides cause-and-effect analysis, and establishes historical connections across time periods. Additionally, Spare Me the Details! develops two major themes central to Western civilization: the evolution of humanism and the growth of democracy. It also pays special attention to the role of women throughout history and to the connection between the arts and history. Now you, too, will know the essentials of Western civilization.

This engaging text offers a brief, readable description of our common Western heritage as it began in the first human societies and developed in ancient Greece and Rome, then through the Middle Ages. Providing a tightly focused narrative and interpretive structure, Brian A. Pavlac covers the basic historical information that all educated adults should know. His joined terms "supremacies and diversities" develop major themes of conflict and creativity throughout history. The text is also informed by five other topical themes: technological innovation, migration and conquest, political and economic decision-making, church and state, and disputes about the meaning of life. Written with flair, this easily accessible yet deeply knowledgeable text provides all the essentials for a course on Western civilization.

This book explains why western civilization is worth knowing about by presenting a consistently topical approach stressing social and cultural themes over the political narrative, incorporating significant discussion of peoples and civilizations outside the boundaries of the West. It focuses on social/economic history" including gender roles, family and children, elite groups, urban/rural contrasts, cities and associations, commerce and manufacture and technological innovation. Written by a single author, it offers rich visual images, textual excerpts, timelines, charts and maps, all closely related to the narrative. Stone, Bronze and Word, Armies and Empires, The Greek Polis, The School of Hellas, Our Sea, Pax Romana. Pagans, Jews and Christians, After Antiquity, Workers, Warriors and Kings, The Spiritual Sword, In the Name of Profit, City Life, Rebirth in Italy, Of One Church, Many, Absolute Power, Europe Reaches Out, The Age of Reason, Court, Town and Country, Inalienable Rights, Revolt and Reorganization in Europe, Machines in the Garden, Lives of the Other Half, The Western Imperium, Storm, Stress and Doubt, The Mighty Are Fallen, The Triumph of Uncertainty, The Failures of Totalitarianism. The End of Imperialism and Western Civilization today. Historians or anyone interested in a social, topical approach to Western Civilization with a global perspective.

The year is 2393, and the world is almost unrecognizable. Clear warnings of climate catastrophe went ignored for decades, leading to soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, widespread drought and—finally—the disaster now known as the Great Collapse of 2093, when the disintegration of the West Antarctica Ice Sheet led to mass migration and a complete reshuffling of the global order. Writing from the Second People's Republic of China on the 300th anniversary of the Great Collapse, a senior scholar presents a gripping and deeply disturbing account of how the children of the Enlightenment—the political and economic elites of the so-called advanced industrial societies—failed to act, and so brought about the collapse of Western civilization. In this haunting, provocative work of science-based fiction, Naomi Oreskes and Eric M. Conway imagine a world devastated by climate change. Dramatizing the science in ways traditional nonfiction cannot, the book reasserts the importance of scientists and the work they do and reveals the self-serving interests of the so called "carbon combustion complex" that have turned the practice of science into political fodder. Based on sound scholarship and yet unafraid to speak boldly, this book provides a welcome moment of clarity amid the cacophony of climate change literature.

This fabulous anthology is sure to be a core text for history of medicine and social science classes in colleges across the country. In order to demonstrate how medical research has influenced Western cultural perspectives, the editors have collected original works from 61 different authors around nine major themes (among them "Anatomy and Destiny," "Psyche and Soma," and "The Construction of Pain, Suffering, and Death"). The authors range from Aristotle, the Bible, and Louis Pasteur, to Masters and Johnson, Ernest Hemingway, and Simone de Beauvoir. The primary sources selected to illustrate the themes are well chosen and contrast with each other nicely. However, the brief background material for the selections center around the authors and offer little or no discussion about the selections' relevance to the topics at hand. This book would be best read in a class or group where the texts' meaning in relation to each other can be discussed, but the book can stand alone if the reader is prepared to do some critical thinking.

Best-selling text, WESTERN CIVILIZATION has helped over one million students learn about the present by exploring the past. Jack Spielvogel's engaging, chronological narrative weaves the political, economic, social, religious, intellectual, cultural, and military aspects of history into a gripping story that is as memorable as it is instructive. Each chapter offers a substantial introduction and conclusion, providing students a context for these disparate themes. The clear narrative of a single gifted author makes it easy for students to follow the story of Western civilization. Spielvogel gives the book depth by including over 150 maps and excerpts of over 200 primary sources--including official documents, poems, and songs--that enliven the past while introducing students to source material that forms the basis of historical scholarship. Available in many split options: WESTERN CIVILIZATION, Comprehensive, 6th Edition (Chapters 1-29), ISBN: 0534646026; WESTERN CIVILIZATION, Volume I, To 1715, 6th Edition (Chapters 1-16), ISBN:0534646034; WESTERN CIVILIZATION, Volume II, Since 1500, 6th Edition (Chapters 13-29), ISBN:0534646042; WESTERN CIVILIZATION, Volume A: To 1500, 6th Edition (Chapters 1-12), ISBN: 0534646050; WESTERN CIVILIZATION, Volume B: 1300-1815, 6th Edition (Chapters 11-19), ISBN:0534646069; WESTERN CIVILIZATION, Volume C: Since 1789, 6th Edition (Chapters 19-29), ISBN: 0534646077; WESTERN CIVILIZATION, Since 1300, 6th Edition (Chapters 11-29), ISBN:0534646085.

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.

Publisher Description

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.