Book Description
Considerably revised, this edition of Documents in World History
gives professors a large variety of primary sources from all areas of the world.
The book retains its global emphasis and includes more primary sources that balance social and cultural history with standard selections, political coverage, and fuller coverage of Africa and the Middle East, including Persia. Several individual passages have been replaced or augmented to provide greater richness and interest. Materials on social issues have also been augmented.
Customer Reviews:
Deeply, deeply disappointed.......2006-03-08
This book represents the nadir of world history: wide-ranging, superficially impressive, and totally devoid of real scholarship. "Documents in World History" seemed like an excellent resource for a world history course. However, it is written by people who are obviously unqualified.
For a good compendium of primary documents for a world history course, I would recommend "World History" by Howard Spodek (the accompanying supplements, listed on the publisher's website, are promising as well).
The first things which surprised me was the poor production quality of this book. For the ridiculous price, one would expect at least a few color photos. But beautiful artwork is rendered in stale, pixellated black and white. I imagine this book was published more for the sake of profit than scholarship.
The authors of "Documents in World History" fail utterly to show which documents are important, and which are just curiosities. The entry for Cyrus the Great fails to show this king's mythical status in Iran and even in Greece, which idolized Cyrus despite his attempts (and those of his descendants) to conquer Greece.
The sections on China are pathetic. The authors do not have any understanding of Confucianism or Chinese literature.
The greatest writer in the Chinese language, Su Shi, has only one poem in this collection. Yet that gives the authors an opportunity to display their total ignorance of China, its language, and even the fact that Chinese people have a surname and a given name. Su Shi has his name misspelled as "Sushi". Another important writer, Bai Juyi, has his name morphed into Bo Zhuyi, which can be quite confusing because "Ju" and "Zhu" are totally different in Chinese. This may seem like nitpicking, but imagine if the authors had misspelled the names of Shakespeare AND Dickens because they couldn't tell the difference between the letters "z" and "k".
Book Description
Volume I of The Oxford History of the British Empire explores the origins of empire. It shows how and why England, and later Britain, became involved with transoceanic navigation, trade, and settlement during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As late as 1630 involvement with regions beyond the traditional confines of Europe was still tentative; by 1690 it had become a firm commitment. The Origins of Empire explains how commercial and, eventually, territorial expansion brought about fundamental change, not only in the parts of America, Africa, and Asia that came under British influence, but also in domestic society and in Britain's relations with other European powers. The chapters, by leading historians, both illustrate the interconnections between developments in Europe and overseas and offer specialist studies on every part of the world that was substantially affected by British colonial activity. Their analysis also focuses on the ethical issues that were presented by the encounter with peoples previously unknown to Europeans, and on the ways in which the colonists struggled to justify their conduct and activities. Series blurb The Oxford History of the British Empire is a major new assessment of the Empire in the light of recent scholarship and the progressive opening of historical records. From the founding of colonies in North America and the West Indies in the seventeenth century to the reversion of Hong Kong to China at the end of the twentieth, British imperialism was a catalyst for far-reaching change. The Oxford History of the British Empire as a comprehensive study allows us to understand the end of Empire in relation to its beginnings, the meaning of British imperialism for the ruled as well as the rulers, and the significence of the British Empire as a theme in world history.
Book Description
Save money with PRIMARY SOURCE READER FOR WORLD HISTORY! Brief and inexpensive, this primary source reader gives you a broad perspective of the history of the world. Readings are divided into parts covering eras and are organized according to themes such as religion, law and government, and everyday life. Each individual reading has a head note and study questions to guide your reading and understanding of the content.
Book Description
This book inaugurates a major three-volume history of the family in Europe over the past five hundred years. In the series, eminent European and American social historians present a fresh reading of family life in Europe, explaining how families and family relations differed across Europe and how and why they changed over time. This volume deals with family life in Europe--and the institutional, economic, political, and cultural forces that transformed it--from the end of the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. Chapters consider, for example, the family's housing, diet, and domestic organization; the nature of family law; the impact of religious change; demographic factors such as disease and childhood mortality; relations between parents and children; and the effect of changing trends in marriage, divorce, and extended kin relationships. Using research techniques from the social sciences as well as new insights from cultural and gender history and the history of sexuality, the contributors present a vivid picture of family life in early modern times that will forever change our image of that era.
Book Description
Enhance your understanding of American culture with AMERICAN WAYS: A HISTORY OF AMERICAN CULTURES, 1500 TO 1865, VOLUME I! This history text traces the developing cultural ways of Americans from the earliest times to the present and provides you with a map by which to understand and interpret America's cultural and social history.
Book Description
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum is one of the most important sources for the history of Normandy and England in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and contains the earliest prose account of the Norman Conquest. It was written by a succession of authors, the first of whom was William of Jumieges, who wrote for William the Conqueror. Later writers, such as Orderic Vitalis (d. c.1142) and Robert of Torigni (d. 1186), interpolated and extended the chronicle as far as King Henry I (1100-1135). The later accretions reveal much not only about changing attitudes towards the Norman invasion of England, but also about views of the early Viking foundation of Normandy. Elisabeth van Houts's two-volume edition is based on a study of all forty-seven extant manuscripts of the Gesta, including the earliest surviving copy of c. 1100, hitherto unknown. The full original text of William of Jumieges is supplied, as well as the integral text of the subsequent revisions and additions. Volume I contains Dr van Houts's introduction to the whole work, together with the text and translation of books i-iv. Books v-viii will appear in Volume II. The edition forms an important contribution to our understanding of Anglo-Norman politics.
Book Description
From the Beginnings to 1500, Chapters 1-22 This groundbreaking world history text has, in its first edition, become a market leader by offering a fresh, global perspective on the past. The text is unique in approach; covering the world as a whole, examining the formations and development of the world’s major societies (“traditions”), and also systematically exploring cross-cultural interactions and exchanges that have been some of the most effective agents of change in all of world history (“encounters”). In addition, the authors have taken great care in constructing a coherent vision of the past that is not weighed down by a mass of detail, thus enabling instructors to incorporate additional readings of their choosing. Finally the text emphasizes that historical processes work themselves out through the lives and experiences of individual human beings, opening each chapter with an account of individual experiences that illuminate themes in that chapter. The second edition includes scholarship updates throughout and revisions to organization and content.
Customer Reviews:
HORRIBLE text.......2007-05-31
The WORST history text I've ever had the displeasure of reading. My poor professor had just started, and they had selected this for history class without his consent. We hardly ever used it after the first 2 months. Professors, seriously, choose a different book. There are hundreds better than this.
HORRIBLE text.......2007-05-31
The WORST history text I've ever had the displeasure of reading. My poor professor had just started, and they had selected this for history class without his consent. We hardly ever used it after the first 2 months. Professors, seriously, choose a different book. There are hundreds better than this.
Average customer rating:
- A disorganized, disjointed, and disappointing read
- Invaluable resource
- Classic of the Annales School
- Motley crew
- good peek into the private of early times
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A History of Private Life, Volume I, From Pagan Rome to Byzantium (History of Private Life)
Manufacturer: Belknap Press
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0674399749 |
Book Description
First of the widely celebrated and sumptuously illustrated series, this book reveals in intimate detail what life was really like in the ancient world. Behind the vast panorama of the pagan Roman empire, the reader discovers the intimate daily lives of citizens and slaves--from concepts of manhood and sexuality to marriage and the family, the roles of women, chastity and contraception, techniques of childbirth, homosexuality, religion, the meaning of virtue, and the separation of private and public spaces. The emergence of Christianity in the West and the triumph of Christian morality with its emphasis on abstinence, celibacy, and austerity is startlingly contrasted with the profane and undisciplined private life of the Byzantine Empire. Using illuminating motifs, the authors weave a rich, colorful fabric ornamented with the results of new research and the broad interpretations that only masters of the subject can provide.
Customer Reviews:
A disorganized, disjointed, and disappointing read.......2007-06-21
This book is one of those doppelgangers which appear to be something good and excellent on the outside but wind up being something, well, otherwise. The cover art at once draws you in, and just flipping through the pages, the multitude of interior plates, both color and b&w, are completely engrossing.
Sadly, the text of this book is practically worthless from a scholarly perspective. The authors make a variety of highly questionable claims throughout the book, very few of which are backed up with meaningful citations. For such a large book, the reference list at the back is pathetic. Hardly any primary sources are listed at all, even though many are mentioned in the text. Worse, the various authors write in a style which makes it appear that their claims are universally accepted and completely above debate. No serious academic would long tolerate such flaws in a work which pretends to make a contribution to scholarship.
It appears, however, that the book is meant for undergraduate level students and general readers. The publisher has clearly produced it with an eye to a wide audience. But this is precisely the type of book that a student or a reader with scant knowledge of ancient history should avoid. One doesn't have to read very far before it becomes clear that this book is primarily a philosophical/political tract masquerading as history. That's not to say that there is no presentation of valid historical facts here. The trouble is, these facts are often cherry-picked to fit neatly into a certain philosophical point of view that is never explicitly defined, only hinted at. Other extant facts that might harm or invalidate this point of view are routinely de-emphasized or ignored. If you want a clue as to what this over-riding philosophical point of view might be, you need only read the tribute given to Michel Foucault, a destructive critic of western civilization, by Paul Veyne in his introduction to the section on the Roman Empire.
There are simply too many questionable claims made in this book to challenge in a review, so I'll limit my criticisms to a couple big picture issues. The single greatest problem I had with this book is that it is not really a "History of Private Life." Discussions of hygiene, diet, maternity, child growth and development, adolescence, play, religious practices, trades, occupations, domestic architecture (except for one very out-of-place chapter), furnishings, farm life, medical care, personal finance, etc. are scanty when they exist at all. Meanwhile, the subjects of slavery, death, and sexuality (particularly deviant forms of sexuality) are covered in exquisite detail, again and again, chapter after chapter. If nothing else, one is left with a very clear notion of what the authors consider the key elements of "private life."
Another major problem involved the scope of the work. Though claiming to cover all the ground between "Rome and Byzantium," the book is highly idiosyncratic in what it covers and what it leaves out. The authors spill a great deal of ink on classical Roman civilization, but expend comparatively little on Christian Roman life between the 4th and 7th centuries. And aside from a brief foray into Merovingian private life, there is nothing on the other Germanic successor states that conquered the western empire. The chapter on Byzantium is completely cursory and covers only the 9th through 12th centuries, leaving everything from the 6th through 8th centuries, including the well-recorded Justinianic period, completely ignored.
Last but not least, there are also some very basic content and consistency problems with this book. A particularly humorous example is on page 81 where the author parenthetically claims that "cats were not yet domesticated in Rome." Meanwhile, an image directly to the right of this text shows a Roman relief of a young girl holding a cat, very obviously domesticated. There is also at least one example of a photo bearing the wrong caption. But these are certainly minor quibbles compared to the ones above.
Lest I sound completely down on this book, however, I should point out that the chapter on domestic architecture in Roman Africa by Yvon Thébert was as excellent as it was out of place. It deserved a book of its own, rather than to be a single grain of wheat amidst a heap of chaff.
Over all, this is a terrible book dressed up in a nice package. Its ultimate goal is to attract unsuspecting non-specialist readers and to fill their minds with a very scholarly-sounding but poorly-grounded and skewed version of history. As such, it is a subtle piece of propaganda which should not be confused with an actual description of what private life was really like in ancient Rome or Byzantium. Admittedly, though, the pictures are nice. Had the authors left the text in the original French, I would heartily endorse this book for an English speaking audience.
Invaluable resource.......2006-11-17
Fascinating in parts; illustrative of things I had not known or even suspected, things I had read allusions to previously, and things I never would even have thought studied. Of course, you need an interest in Roman and Byzantine life; and even if you have such an interest, not all the details will hold your attention. Some of the cross cultural comparisons were beautifully illustrative (one that sticks was a comparison between the economy of a present day middle eastern country to that of the Empire). I am pretty sure this suffered from some sort of idiological bias, as it was weirdly contradictory in places, though it is an original/odd enough bias that it it probably unique to the authors. One of the authors at least, seemed to be an intimate of Michel Foucault. All were french, and the prose suffers for it to the point of being occasionally downright nonsensical. The book certainly rid me of any "golden age" delusions I might have had, regarding Roman times. I'll stick with my electric can opener, microwave ovens, annoying legal system, and Blue Cross HMO thanks very much.
Classic of the Annales School.......2004-11-03
This book is the product of the methodology created by the annales school of historians in france. Founded in the late 20's, the Annales school pioneered the use of the methods and teachings from other schools of social science in the service of history. This approach spurned a focus on wars and politics in favor of a focus on "everyday life" i.e. the life of non-presidents and generals.
The general editors of this book (Durby and Aries) were pioneers of the approach, along with it's most famous author: Braudel. See his work on the mediteranean, or Aries' classic "In the Hour of Our Death".
These authors are second and third generation. The work is, on the whole, excellent, but it's a distinct style of scholarship, which may account for some of the confusion in the other reviews.
Each chronological segment is written by a different author. The section on Rome is an anchor to the whole five volume series. The secton on late antiquity is a bit brief. I skipped the chapter on roman domestic architecture in africa. The period on the early middle ages is rich and fascinating, but too brief. I could have read a whole book on the Merovinigian empire in northern Gaul! The chapter on the Byzantine empire focuses on the later empeire (900-1200(?) and the source material for the last chapter seems to consist almost of entirely of information on monastery life.
Over all, one is struck by the dramatic, though gradual, shift from pagan rome to early christianity. It is a unique book, and well worth reading.
Motley crew.......2002-08-11
This is the first volume of a multi-author endeavor to trace the changes in private attitudes, beliefs, benaviors, and lifestyles from the early Roman Empire to the late twentieth century. The first volume begins with the early Roman Empire and ends with the apogee of the Byzantine Empire. Containing five lenghty essays by different authors (mainly French -- the whole project is a French one) dealing with the early Roman Empire, the late Roman Empire, housing and architecture in Roman Africa, Merovingian Gaul, and tenth and eleventh-century Byzantium.
The project is a fresh and invigorating look at the ways that societies change. There are several excellent illuminations in this book. We are shown that the notion of Roman "sexual liberation" is not well-founded; that Christianity did not change Western views on sex and the body, but that Christianity adopted the views of the poorer (and more numerous) Roman classes; how architecture can reveal much about a society; and that the major change between the late Empire and the early medieval had to do with notions of "private" and "public."
Although the book is interesting and useful, there are some reasons to criticize it. Most of the attention is given to the early Roman Empire, which consumes almost one third of the book. Entirely too much space is given to the chapter on architecture in Roman Africa -- it is significantly longer than the chapter on the late Empire. The chapter entitled "The Early Middle Ages in the West" is really only about Merovingian Gaul, and does not always have the change between the late Empire and early medieval as a focus. The chapter on Byzantium did not seem to fit with the rest of the book. The reason for including Byzantium in this volume rather than the next volume (Middle Ages) was to show Byzantine culture as a continuation of Roman culture. Unfortunately, the piece was not about the early Byzantine, but rather the middle Byzantine era, thus having no connection with the rest of the book. It is also dubious that the book begins with the Roman Empire, not the Roman Republic or classical Greece. Paul Veyne says that this decision was made because Rome was essentially Greek in character, and that a section on Greece and a section on Rome would be repetitive. This is weak reasoning at best, but, given the lenght of the book as it stands now, it may still have been a good decision. Finally, the book is not footnoted or endnoted. There is a lengthy bibliography and a small notes section in the back, but assertions, ideas, and evidence are not clearly referenced. I do not know if this is how French scholarship is done, or if this major chunk of scholarship was left out in the interest of marketing the book to a lay audience. Either way, it is frustrating, and only hurts the academic value of this major project.
Despite these critical comments, I view the book as an excellent effort and an enlightening read. Too often history is about events, not people, and these historians have made a noble attempt to humanize our past.
good peek into the private of early times.......2002-05-02
This book covers about 1,000 years of private life, from the polytheistic era of classical Rome through the acceptance there and then institutionalization of Christianity in the dark ages. It is a dazzling side glance into the cultural evolution of these tumultuous times with some reference to the larger political context.
The distinctions between these cultures are at once subtle and brutal. First, we view the civitas of Rome, that is, the obligation that Roman citizens felt towards their cities, which involved complex community-oriented mores and expensive public displays that were paid for by private means; aristocratic children, brought up with relatively less sense of their individuality than we enjoy, saw their lives and careers as reflections of the glory of their cities. The reader is also treated to the way that slaves and families were treated in great detail.
Then, in the early Christian era, more privatized cultures arose, first with the increased introspection that the christianization of the empire entailed. Next, the barbarian invasions - in which nomadic tribes smashed the urban cultures in whose wealth they had wanted to partake - merely accelerated this trend; they greatly valued their possessions, often war booty that they had to carry with them, and hence had little regard for fixed property and its supporting laws that enabled cities to flourish. Infrastructure and larger communities and political units in this period deteriorated, which severely impacted trade and hence economic welfare. The standard of measure of a life at that time became purely personal wealth and power.
A sub-theme of the book is the influence of monasticism, which created its own closed communities and became the model for family life at the beginning of the gothic era. Monks and the clergy were the holders of standards of conduct and literacy through this little-known period, and exerted immense influence on the mores of the people who lived nearby. In all its detail, this was new to me. Indeed, if it were not for their labors, much of classical learning would have been lost forever. They are also virtually the only source for information about life in Byzantium.
While there is something lost in having so many authors involved in a single volume, the chapters in this book are so long and detailed that they are like self-contained books. Ample illustrations transport the reader to each era, revealing the mystery of what made us who we are in the west over so many centuries. Nonetheless, the chapters are uneven. The chapter on Roman architecture in N. Africa is very boring indeed, and the one on Byzantium is dull as well. But those on pagan and then Christian Rome are superb, as are those on the dark ages.
Finally, this book relies more on written sources than on archaeology, which is a pity in my opinion, as the sources written after pagan Rome are rather formulaic and outright boring in their rhetorical flourishes as you read about them over hundreds of pages. At times, it reads like a compendium of obscure sources, including exhaustive analysis of funery inscriptions, though that is often what academia comes down to. Another odd thing is that there are only two pages of footnotes, which are followed by a rather poor bibliography. While the book is trying to strike a balance between popular and specialized audiences, I would have preferred better info on sources.
In spite of these criticisms, there is no question that this book is an ample and fascinating meal. Recommended.
Book Description
This volume of translated source materials from the late Roman Empire to the mid-15th century introduces students to the diversity of medieval culture, covering all aspects of medieval life--social, religious, economic, intellectual, institutional.
Customer Reviews:
Great.......2005-10-19
The book was in great condition, it was a older version then we used in class, but it stil works. It also arrived a little later then I was hoping for.
Professor Tierney's research pays off for you!.......2002-05-20
Brian Tierney has collected so many excellent primary sources. If you are interested in what people of that time thought about or wrote, by all means get anything by Tierney. If you are a history student or teacher, these gems will enliven the discussion in the classroom and will even challenge your ideas of modernity. Enjoy!
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