World History

New edition of a text that balances a global approach with attention to the unique character and development of civilizations in divergent parts of the world. Synthesizing political, economic, social, religious, intellectual, cultural, and military history, Duiker and Spielvogel (Pennsylvania State U.) present 32 chapters that discuss the first civilizations and the rise of empires (prehistory to 500 C.E.), new patterns of civilization, the emergence of New World patterns (1500-1800), modern patterns of world history (1800-1945), and toward a global civilizationthe world since 1945. Attractively formatted and illustrated with color maps, art reproductions, and color and b&w photographs. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

William J. Duiker is liberal arts Professor Emeritus of East Asian studies at The Pennsylvania State University. A former U.S. diplomat with service in Taiwan, South Vietnam, and Washington, D.C., he received his doctorate in Far Eastern history from Georgetown University in 1968, where his dissertation dealt with the Chinese educator and reformer Cai Yuanpei. At Penn State, he has written extensively on the history of Vietnam and modern China, including the highly acclaimed THE COMMUNIST ROAD TO POWER IN VIETNAM (revised edition, Westview Press, 1996), which was selected for a Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award in 1982-1983 and 1996-1997. Other recent books are CHINA AND VIETNAM: THE ROOTS OF CONFLICT (Berkeley, 1987), SACRED WAR: NATIONALISM AND REVOLUTION IN A DIVIDED VIETNAM (McGraw-Hill, 1995), and HO CHI MINH (Hyperion, 2000), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2001. He is the author, with colleague Jackson Spielvogel, of WORLD HISTORY (Sixth Edition, Wadsworth, 2010). While his research specialization is in the ?eld of nationalism and Asian revolutions, his intellectual interests are considerably more diverse. He has traveled widely and has taught courses on the history of communism and non-Western civilizations at Penn State, where he was awarded a Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the spring of 1996.

Jackson J. Spielvogel is associate professor Emeritus of history at The Pennsylvania State University. He received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, where he specialized in Reformation history under Harold J. Grimm. His articles and reviews have appeared in journals such as "Moreana," "Journal of General Education," "Catholic Historical Review," "Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte," and "American Historical Review." He also has contributed chapters or articles to "The Social History of Reformation,"