This text explores four major features of human society in their ecological and historical context: the origins of priests and organised religion; the rise of military men in an agrarian society; economic expansion and growth; and civilising and decivilising trends over time.

Now in its fifth edition, this definitive history of the Russian land and people builds on its success as a fascinating survey of two thousand years of struggle to harness vast resources and talents into a powerful and cohesive nation. From its beginning as a savage and exotic land, Russia underwent a complex evolution of political, social, and religious forces--the barbarism of its internal conflicts in seeming contradiction with its goals to advance in the realms of technology, art, education, and high culture. From the conflicts of the fantastically wealthy ruling class to the poor and oppressed masses emerged the Communist party and the enigmatic figures whose charismatic manipulation of political power reflected the myriad rulers before them. Finally, as the modern world watched, this great entity collapsed in a devastatingly brief time, millennia of precarious conflict proving too much for the tenuous coalescence of twentieth-century politics. Written in an engaging and accessible style, this text presents students with a comprehensive look at the momentous events and legendary figures which helped shape Russia's turbulent history.

When this encyclopedic history of the Jews was first published in 1958, it was hailed as one of the great works of its kind, a study that not only chronicled an assailed and enduring people, but assessed its astonishing impact on the modern world. Now this scholarly and comprehensive book has been massively revised and updated by its author, a professor of modern history at the George Washington University and one of the most respected authorities on the lives and times of the Jewish people. The new edition casts additional light on the milestones of the Jewish saga from the eighteenth century to the close of the twentieth: the Jews' emergence from the ghetto and into the heart of Western society, the debate between the voices of tradition, assimilation, and Zionism; virtual destruction during the Holocaust; and troubled rebirth in Israel. Here, too, are evocative portraits of today's disapora, from the Jews of America to the embattled communities of the former Soviet Union and the Third World.