World History to 1500 - Softcover

Duiker, William J.; Spielvogel, Jackson J.

3.2

10 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0534531202 ISBN 13: 9780534531201

Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing, 1997

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This is a comprehensive introduction to world civilizations to 1500. It covers each major civilization-such as China, India, and Europe-and provides points of comparison between and among these civilizations. It emphasizes breadth and accessibility and contains a wealth of primary source documents, beautiful full-color maps, and interesting teaching and learning supplements to help students appreciate the complexity of the topic while enjoying its application to their lives.

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About the Author:

William J. Duiker is liberal arts Professor Emeritus of East Asian studies at The Pennsylvania State University. A former U.S. diplomat with service in Taiwan, South Vietnam, and Washington, D.C., he received his doctorate in Far Eastern history from Georgetown University in 1968, where his dissertation dealt with the Chinese educator and reformer Cai Yuanpei. At Penn State, he has written extensively on the history of Vietnam and modern China, including the highly acclaimed COMMUNIST ROAD TO POWER IN VIETNAM (revised edition, Westview Press, 1996), which was selected for a Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award in 1982--1983 and 1996-1997. Other recent books are CHINA AND VIETNAM: THE ROOTS OF CONFLICT (Berkeley, 1987), U.S. CONTAINMENT POLICY AND THE CONFLICT IN INDOCHINA (Stanford, 1995), SACRED WAR: NATIONALISM AND REVOLUTION IN A DIVIDED VIETNAM (McGraw-Hill, 1995), and HO CHI MINH (Hyperion, 2000), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2001. While his research specialization is in the field of nationalism and Asian revolutions, his intellectual interests are considerably more diverse. He has traveled widely and has taught courses on the history of communism and non-Western civilizations at Penn State, where he was awarded a Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the spring of 1996. In 2002, the College of Liberal Arts honored him with an Emeritus Distinction Award.

Review:

"I think the key strength of the Duiker/Spielvogel text these days is its strong organization, a very helpful characteristic to students. Its pictures and timelines are quite helpful as well. The Duiker volume is very thorough, too ... academics appreciate this far more than students ever do. ... Again, Duiker and Spielvogel continue to provide a strong product year after year. Its hallmarks include superior organization and design."

"The strengths of Duiker/Spielvogel include its writing style, which is clear, concise, and readable; its incorporation of primary source documents throughout the text; and the use of maps, chronologies, and visuals."

"Why do we stick with D & S year after year? D & S has a good full narrative of historic events and key figures much of the time. ... D & S is still ... the best of the lot in this respect. D & S is written in a straightforward style, very accessible to our undergraduates. There is also a good balance of Western and non-Western material most of the time. The color prints and other art work are of good quality and illustrate cultures and periods effectively."

"Duiker/Spielvogel is concise, well-balanced, and includes an even treatment of many non-Western cultures. ... This text's commitment to presenting world history in a truly global framework is its most singular quality."

"Duiker and Spielvogel have done a superlative job of balancing Western and non-Western history and intermixing political, economic, intellectual, and social history. Effective graphics and student learning features augment a well-written, polished text. ... Perhaps the single best thing about this volume: it's global enough in focus, especially so regarding Asia, for all but the most idiosyncratic professor's tastes. Instructors who emphasize Western, non-Western, or a truly global model should find this text appropriate to their purposes."

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