Sources for the History of Western Civilization: Volume I - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551113260 ISBN 13: 9781551113265

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Higher Education Division, 2002

Synopsis

This two-volume reader documents the history of the West, from the second millennium BC through the twentieth century. Drawing from the well known and the less obvious, Sources for the History of Western Civilization reflects the ongoing reassessment of the canonical texts of Western history. The volumes include generous selections of literature, letters, laws, records, biographical writings, and illustrations that collectively create a rich portrait of the West's intellectual, social, political, and material development.

Unlike other readers, Sources for the History of Western Civilization uses complete texts whenever feasible, including those of a number of longer works, such as The Symposium; Einhard's Life of Charlemagne and The Communist Manifesto. Women are well represented and Western Civilization is placed within world history by the inclusion of materials from the Near East, the Americas and Asia. The selections have been newly annotated and the translations have in many cases been modernized. The headnotes introducing each author's work leave room for readers to conduct their own analyses.

Please note that both Volume I and Volume II come with the 195-page book Commentaries for the instructor, which contains questions for students and advanced analyses on each reading's relationship to broader historical themes. The inclusion of Commentaries makes Sources for the History of Western Civilization ideal for large courses with sections taught by newer instructors.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Burger is an historian of medieval Europe and the Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Auburn University at Montgomery.

Review

...the best anthology of relatively brief selections that I have ever seen. The book cannot be cubby-holed as social, political, or intellectual history. It will give teachers a lot of flexibility.

(Thomas F.X. Noble, University of Notre Dame)

Michael Burger's selections are exceptionally well chosen. Along with the central texts one expects (books of the Bible; Cicero; Marx) there is other, less canonical material (ancient inscriptions, the letters of Sidonius Apollinaris; the Articles of the Catholic League; Memoirs of Madame Roland; Karl Pearson's writings on eugenics) adding interest and richness. The short introductions offer just the right amount of information without dictating what to think, and the Commentaries make the reader invaluable to instructors. All in all, this is a terrific reader. Professor Burger's source book has all the virtues and none of the problems of other readers on the market.

(Robin Fleming, Boston College)

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Higher Education Division
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1551113260
• ISBN 13: 9781551113265
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 736
• Editor: Burger Michael