World History in Brief, Single Volume Edition (4th Edition)

Rating:
Summary: World development from the beginning of time through 1450
Review: I recently decided to return to college after being away for nearly 20 years raising a family. This text was one of my first courses and I found it easy to understand, well laid-out, and concise. Generally speaking, it dealt with issues thoroughly, though I would have liked to have seen more coverage on gender issues through the ages. Early civilization was primarily patriarchal, yet women played an intricate part in the development of society through the ages. I think any student interested in learning about the origins of civilization would benefit greatly by using this text. The chapters covered topics well, but weren't excessively lengthy. The companion document book worked well with this text, preventing any confusion as to the time table involved. This book should be included as a reference or required reading for any history major. Mr. Stearns did a wonderful job covering a large span of time in simple terms and in few pages. Having a wonderful professor, along with easy-to-understand text, influenced me to add history as one of my majors--along with my major of English. I only hope my second semester in history goes as well as my first!