Synopses & Reviews
THE EARTH AND ITS PEOPLES presents world history in a balanced, global framework, shifting the focus away from political centers of power. This truly global text for the world history survey course employs a fundamental theme--the interaction of human beings and the environment--to compare different times, places, and societies. Special emphasis is given to technology (in its broadest sense) and how technological development underlies all human activity. Highly acclaimed in their fields of study, the authors bring a wide array of expertise to the program. A combination of strong scholarship and detailed pedagogy gives the book its reputation for rigor and student accessibility. The Fifth Edition features new pedagogy and a beautiful new design.
About the Author
Richard W. Bulliet (PhD, Harvard University) is Professor of Middle Eastern History at Columbia University. He has written scholarly works on a number of topics: the social and economic history of medieval Iran (THE PATRICIANS OF NISHAPUR and COTTON, CLIMATE, AND CAMELS IN EARLY ISLAMIC IRAN), the history of human-animal relations (THE CAMEL AND THE WHEEL and HUNTERS, HERDERS, AND HAMBURGERS), the process of conversion to Islam (CONVERSION TO ISLAM IN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD), and the overall course of Islamic social history (ISLAM: THE VIEW FROM THE EDGE and THE CASE FOR ISLAMO-CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION). He is the editor of the COLUMBIA HISTORY OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. He has published four novels, coedited THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST, and hosted an educational television series on the Middle East. He was awarded a fellowship by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and was named a Carnegie Corporation Scholar. Pamela Kyle Crossley received her Ph.D. in Modern Chinese History from Yale University. She is currently the Robert and Barbara Black Professor of History at Dartmouth College. Her books include THE WOBBLING PIVOT: AN INTERPRETIVE HISTORY OF CHINA SINCE 1800; WHAT IS GLOBAL HISTORY?; A TRANSLUCENT MIRROR: HISTORY AND IDENTITY IN QING IMPERIAL IDEOLOGY; THE MANCHUS; ORPHAN WARRIORS: THREE MANCHU GENERATIONS AND THE END OF THE QING WORLD; and (with Lynn Hollen Lees and John W. Servos) GLOBAL SOCIETY: THE WORLD SINCE 1900. Daniel R. Headrick received his Ph.D. in History from Princeton University. Professor of History and Social Science, Emeritus, at Roosevelt University in Chicago, he is the author of several books on the history of technology, imperialism, and international relations, including THE TOOLS OF EMPIRE: TECHNOLOGY AND EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY; THE TENTACLES OF PROGRESS: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN THE AGE OF IMPERIALISM; THE INVISIBLE WEAPON: TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS; TECHNOLOGY: A WORLD HISTORY; POWER OVER PEOPLES: TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTS AND WESTERN IMPERIALISM, 1400 TO THE PRESENT; and WHEN INFORMATION CAME OF AGE: TECHNOLOGIES OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE AGE OF REASON AND REVOLUTION, 1700-1850. His articles have appeared in the JOURNAL OF WORLD HISTORY and the JOURNAL OF MODERN HISTORY, and he has been awarded fellowships by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Steven W. Hirsch holds a Ph.D. in Classics from Stanford University and is currently Associate Professor of Classics and History at Tufts University. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Massachusetts Foundation for Humanities and Public Policy. His research and publications include THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE BARBARIANS: XENOPHON AND THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, as well as articles and reviews in the CLASSICAL JOURNAL, the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHILOLOGY, and the JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY HISTORY. He is currently working on a comparative study of ancient Mediterranean and Chinese civilizations. Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Lyman L. Johnson earned his Ph.D. in Latin American History from the University of Connecticut. A two-time Senior Fulbright-Hays Lecturer, he also has received fellowships from the Tinker Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Philosophical Society. His recent books include DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT, AND MEMORY; THE FACES OF HONOR (with Sonya Lipsett-Rivera); THE PROBLEM OF ORDER IN CHANGING SOCIETIES; ESSAYS ON THE PRICE HISTORY OF EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LATIN AMERICA (with Enrique Tandeter); and COLONIAL LATIN AMERICA (with Mark A. Burkholder). He also has published in journals, including the HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW, the JOURNAL OF LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES, the INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF SOCIAL HISTORY, SOCIAL HISTORY, and DESARROLLO ECONOMICO. He recently served as president of the Conference on Latin American History.
Table of Contents
NOTE: Each chapter contains a conclusion, key terms, website resources, a suggested reading list, and notes. PART I: THE EMERGENCE OF HUMAN COMMUNITIES, TO 500 B.C.E. 1. Nature, Humanity, and History, to 3500 B.C.E. African Genesis. Technology and Culture in the Ice Age. The Agricultural Revolutions. Life in Neolithic Communities. Diversity and Dominance: Cave Art. Environment and Technology: The Iceman. 2. The First River-Valley Civilizations, 3500-1500 B.C.E. Mesopotamia. Egypt. The Indus Valley Civilization. Diversity and Dominance: Violence and Order in the Babylonian New Year's Festival. Environment and Technology: Environmental Stress in the Indus Valley. 3. New Civilizations in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, 2200-250 B.C.E. Early China, 2000-221 B.C.E. Nubia, 3100 B.C.E.-350 C.E. Celtic Europe, 1000-50 B.C.E. First Civilizations of the Americas: The Olmec and Chavin, 1200-250 B.C.E. Environment and Technology: Divination in Ancient Societies. Diversity and Dominance: Human Nature and Good Government in the Analects of Confucius and the Legalist Writings of Han Fei. 4. The Mediterranean and Middle East, 2000-500 B.C.E. The Cosmopolitan Middle East, 1700-1100 B.C.E. The Aegean World, 2000-1100 B.C.E. The Assyrian Empire, 911-612 B.C.E. Israel, 2000-500 B.C.E. Phoenicia and the Mediterranean, 1200-500 B.C.E. Failure and Transformation, 750-550 B.C.E. Diversity and Dominance: Protests Against the Ruling Class in Israel and Babylonia. Environment and Technology: Ancient Textiles and Dyes. Issues In World History: Animal Domestication. PART II: THE FORMATION OF NEW CULTURAL COMMUNITIES, 1000 B.C.E.-400 C.E. 5. Greece and Iran, 1000-30 B.C.E. Ancient Iran, 1000-500 B.C.E. The Rise of the Greeks, 1000-500 B.C.E. The Struggle of Persia and Greece, 546-323 B.C.E. The Hellenistic Synthesis, 323-30 B.C.E. Diversity and Dominance: Persian and Greek Perceptions of Kingship. Material Culture: Wine and Beer in the Ancient World. Environment and Technology: Ancient Astronomy. 6. An Age of Empires: Rome and Han China, 753 B.C.E.-330 C.E. Rome's Creation of a Mediterranean Empire, 753 B.C.E.-330 C.E. The Origins of Imperial China, 221 B.C.E.-220 C.E. Diversity and Dominance: The Treatment of Slaves in Rome and China. Environment and Technology: Water Engineering in Rome and China. 7. India and Southeast Asia, 1500 B.C.E.-1025 C.E. Foundations of Indian Civilization, 1500 B.C.E.-300 C.E. Imperial Expansion and Collapse, 324 B.C.E.-650 C.E. Southeast Asia, 50-1025 C.E. Environment and Technology: Indian Mathematics. Diversity and Dominance: Relations Between Women and Men in the Kama Sutra and the Arthashastra. Issues in World History: Oral Societies and the Consequences of Literacy. PART III: GROWTH AND INTERACTION OF CULTURAL COMMUNITIES, 300 B.C.E.-1200 C.E. 8. Networks of Communication and Exchange, 300 B.C.E.-1100 C.E. The Silk Road. The Indian Ocean Maritime System. Routes Across the Sahara. Sub-Saharan Africa. The Spread of Ideas. Diversity and Dominance: Travel Accounts of Africa and India. Environment and Technology: Camel Saddles. 9. The Sasanid Empire and the Rise of Islam, 200-1200. The Sasanid Empire, 224-651. The Origins of Islam. The Rise and Fall of the Caliphate, 632-1258. Islamic Civilization. Diversity and Dominance: Secretaries, Turks, and Beggars. Environment and Technology: Chemistry. Material Culture: Head Coverings. 10. Christian Societies Emerge in Europe, 600-1200. The Byzantine Empire, 600-1200. Early Medieval Europe, 600-1000. The Western Church. Kievan Russia, 900-1200. Western Europe Revives, 1000-1200. The Crusades, 1095-1204. Environment and Technology: Iron Production. Diversity and Dominance: The Struggle for Christian Morality. 11. Inner and East Asia, 400-1200. The Sui and Tang Empires, 581-755. The Emergence of East Asia, to 1200. New Kingdoms in East Asia. Diversity and Dominance: Law and Society in China and Japan. Environment and Technology: Writing in East Asia, 400-1200. 12. Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas, 200-1500. Classic-Era Culture and Society in Mesoamerica, 200-900. The Postclassic Period in Mesoamerica, 900-1500. Northern Peoples. Andean Civilizations, 200-1500. Diversity and Dominance: Burials as Historical Texts. Environment and Technology: Inca Roads. Issues in World History: Religious Conversion.