With its brief, global (rather than West-centered) approach, World History in Brief, Sixth Edition, seeks to show how different civilizations developed in a global context.   Rather than overwhelm students, the chief goal of World History in Brief is to present the big picture, to facilitate comparison and assessment of change, and to highlight the major developments in the world's history. This text also emphasizes the global interactions of major civilizations so that students can compare and assess changes in the patterns of interaction and the impact of global forces such as migration and technology exchange. The compact size of this text gives instructors the opportunity to take advantage of additional supplementary readings.

Table of Contents:
List of Maps  List of Features  Preface    PART  I             Early World History: From Origins to Agriculture and New Forms of Human Organization CHAPTER 1   From Human Prehistory to the Rise of Agriculture  Getting Started Is Always Hard  Human Development and Change  HISTORY DEBATE People in the Americas  The Neolithic Revolution  The Nature of Agricultural Societies  UNDERSTANDING CULTURES The Nature of Culture  Agriculture and Change  Paths to the Present        CHAPTER 2   Early Civilization  Civilization  Egypt and Mesopotamia Compared  HISTORY DEBATE Women in Patriarchal Societies  Transitions: The End of the River Valley Period  UNDERSTANDING CULTURES Uses and Varieties  The Heritage of the River Valley Civilizations  New States and Peoples Around 1000 B.C.E.  Paths to the Present        CHAPTER 3   Nomadic Societies  Early Nomadic Societies  Nomadic Society and Culture  UNDERSTANDING CULTURES Nomadic Art  Nomads and Civilizations  Nomads and Global Patterns  HISTORY DEBATE The Contributions of Nomads  Paths to the Present  Tensions: CONTACTS AND IDENTITIES Part I: The Rise of Agriculture and Agricultural Civilizations        PART II     The Classical Period, 1000 B.C.E.—500 C.E.  CHAPTER 4   Classical Civilization: China  Patterns in Classical China  Political Institutions  HISTORY DEBATE War  Religion and Culture  WORLD PROFILES Confucius, or Kong Fuzi (c. 551—479 B.C.E.)  Economy and Society  WORLD PROFILES Ban Zhao (c. 48—117 C.E.)  How Chinese Civilization Fit Together   Paths to the Present        CHAPTER 5   Classical Civilization: India  The Framework for Indian History: Geography and a Formative Period  Patterns in Classical India  Political Institutions  HISTORY DEBATE Interpreting Civilization, Round Two  Religion and Culture  UNDERSTANDING CULTURES Comparing Systems of Belief  Economy and Society  Indian Influence  China and India  Paths to the Present       CHAPTER 6   Classical Civilization in the Mediterranean: Persia, Greece and Rome  The Persian Empire  Patterns of Greek and Roman History  Greek and Roman Political Institutions  WORLD PROFILES Julius Caesar (100—44 B.C.E.)  Religion and Culture  UNDERSTANDING CULTURES When Two Belief Systems Meet  Economy and Society in the Mediterranean  HISTORY DEBATE Mediterranean Civilization and “Western” Civilization  Toward the Fall of Rome  Paths to the Present        CHAPTER 7   The Classical Period: Directions, Diversities, and Declines by 500 C.E.  Beyond the Classical Civilizations  Decline in China and India  Decline and Fall in Rome  HISTORY DEBATE What Caused Decline and Fall?  The New Religious Map  WORLD PROFILES Saint Paul (Paul of Tarsus)  The World Around 500 C.E.  Paths to the Present  Tensions: CONTACTS AND IDENTITIES Part II: The Classical Period, 1000 B.C.E.—500 C.E.        PART III    The Postclassical Period, 500—1450 C.E.  CHAPTER 8   The Rise of Islam: Civilization in the Middle East  UNDERSTANDING CULTURES The Impact of World Religions  The Advent of Islam  WORLD PROFILES Muhammad (570—632 C.E.)  Patterns of Islamic History  Islamic Political Institutions  HISTORY DEBATE Political Implications of Islam  Islam and Middle Eastern Culture  WORLD PROFILES Omar Khayyam (c. 11th—12th centuries)  Economy and Society in the Middle East  The Decline of Middle Eastern Civilization  Paths to the Present        CHAPTER 9   India and Southeast Asia Under the Impact of Islam  The Development of Indian Culture  HISTORY DEBATE The Caste System  The Muslim Challenge in India  UNDERSTANDING CULTURES Comparison and Contact  Southeast Asia   Paths to the Present        CHAPTER 10  Africa and Islam  Sub-Saharan Africa and the World Network  WORLD PROFILES Sundiata  The Great Kingdoms  HISTORY DEBATE Handles for African History  Features of African Civilization   Paths to the Present         CHAPTER 11  East European Civilization: Byzantium and Russia  The Byzantine Phase  WORLD PROFILES The Emperor Justinian (527—565 C.E.)  The Early Russian Phase: Kievan Rus’  East European Political Institutions  HISTORY DEBATE A Russian Civilization?  East European Religion and Culture  East European Economy and Society  East European Civilization in Eclipse  Paths to the Present        CHAPTER 12  Western Civilization: The Middle Ages  Early Patterns in Western Civilization  HISTORY DEBATE Western Civilization  Medieval Political Institutions  Medieval Religion and Culture  Economy and Society  UNDERSTANDING CULTURES Christianity and Syncretism  Women and Family Life  Tensions in the Later Middle Ages   Paths to the Present  CHAPTER 13    The Spread of East Asian Civilization  Political and Cultural Developments in China  WORLD PROFILES Taizong (626—649 C.E.)  Economy and Society in China  Civilization in Korea, Vietnam, and Japan  History Debate: East Asian Civilization? Culture, Society, and Economy in Japan  WORLD PROFILES Mugai Nyodai  East Asian Self-Confidence   Paths to the Present         CHAPTER 14  Centers of Civilization in the Americas  The Mayas and Aztecs  HISTORY DEBATE What Happened to the Mayas?  UNDERSTANDING CULTURES The Question of Legacies  The Issue of Isolation  Paths to the Present          CHAPTER 15  The Mongol Interlude and the End of the Postclassical Period  Mongol Empires  WORLD PROFILES Chabi Khan  Bubonic Plague China and the West as New World Powers  HISTORY DEBATE Causes of Global Change by 1450  The End of Transition: Postclassical to Early Modern  Paths to the Present    Tensions: CONTACTS AND IDENTITIES Part III: The Postclassical Period, 500—1450 C.E. Credits  Index