A completely revised and updated edition of the reference work originally compiled and edited by William L. Langer, now packaged together with a fully searchable CD-ROM, covering all of world history.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
The "Langer Encyclopedia," as the professional academics call The Encyclopedia of World History originally edited by the late William L. Langer, is basically a history of everything--and an outstanding reference volume. Want to know why the English called their 10th-century king Ethelred "the Unready"? See page 181. Or what the Ottoman Empire's constitution of 1876 said? See page 531. Or when women in Honduras got the vote? See page 955. This sixth edition, completely updated and revised by a team of scholars led by George Mason University's Peter N. Stearns, packs all it can into a year-by-year and region-by-region chronicle of human life on planet Earth. The book is big, the type is small, and the maps and genealogical tables are excellent. Stearns has added more material on women, leisure activities, and demographics to this edition, and the sections on Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Latin America are much different from the previous version. As if this weren't enough, the book comes with a CD-ROM featuring the complete text and fantastic search capabilities. The Encyclopedia of World History is highly recommended for serious history buffs. --John Miller
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Stearns is provost and professor of history at George Mason University and editor of Encyclopedia of European Social History [RBB My 15 01], among other works. His present effort is a major revision of a classic reference book edited by William Langer that has been around since 1883. The monograph was last published in 1972, so it was in substantial need of revision. This task has taken Stearns and a panel of prominent scholars 10 years to complete.
This book is intended for students, scholars, and amateur historians. It contains more than 20,000 entries covering prehistory through the year 2000. Examples of the currency of this work are the coverage on the 2000 presidential elections and the attack on the USS Cole. Coverage of Western European history has been reduced to make way for additional material on Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. In addition, coverage of traditional historical fields like national histories has been updated, and new historical fields such as women's history, social and cultural history, technology, and international government have been added.
Content is divided into broad time periods, from "Prehistoric" to "Contemporary." Each section starts off with a global survey. This is followed by regional divisions within which individual countries or cultures are treated. By and large, information for each region and country is presented chronologically, although there are also some narrative overviews. The extensive table of contents and index are essential tools for finding one's way. Appropriately placed throughout the text are 57 black-and-white maps and 66 genealogy tables of monarchies. The volume comes with a CD-ROM version that installs easily and is very user-friendly. Maps on the CD-ROM are in color, unlike those in the book.
Other recent single-volume world history reference tools are Facts On File's Encyclopedia of World History (2000) and Oxford's Encyclopedia of World History (1998). Both are arranged in A-Z format, and because of its largely chronological organization, the latest Encyclopedia of World History complements rather than competes with them. It would be a useful reference for high-school, public, and academic libraries. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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47 of 48 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
You know you've finally run across an excellent encyclopedia when you pull it off the shelf to look up a specific topic only to find yourself a couple of hours later reading totally unrelated entries for the sheer pleasure of it. This is my experience with this newest edition of Peter Stearns' *Encyclopedia of World History*.
The Encyclopedia's entries, which run from prehistoric to contemporary times, are incredibly detailed, summarizing each periods intellectual, economic, political, social, religious, and military history. They also include features not found in typical historical overviews. One of my favorites is "Global Interaction Networks," a section that ties together causal interactions between different parts of the world at different historical periods. The Global Interaction Networks for Europe, 1479-1675, for example, features mini-essays on emerging world economies, exchange of new agricultural products (such as maize and potatoes discovered in the New World), and worldwide epidemics.
In this edition of the Encyclopedia, there's also an accompanying CD which provides, among other things, a wonderful historical atlas. Finally, the index is to die for: over 150 pages of closely-printed text. Wonderful!
An overall reflection of the usefulness of this Encyclopedia is that one needn't be a rocket scientist to find it useful. A high school student can profit from it just as much as a graduate student or history professor. I've frequently referred to past editions of it in preparing for my own classes, and I've never hesitated to refer it to students.
34 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
William Langer's original daunting task - to offer a single volume encyclopedia that would be the standard reference volume for historians - was admirably fulfilled in past editions. This sixth edition, with Peter Stearn and his team of scholars of unquestioned authority, continues the tradition. For the layman, this book offers a remarkable brevity and depth. Often within just two or three pages entire significant periods or trends are covered thoroughly. There are rare factual errors, as is the case with any encyclopedic work, but this new edition still delivers the most exhaustive reference with the least errors. For those who love dates and places, people and trends, this is an invaluable reference. For those who hate such detailed information but must keep it around for work or school, this is still the best single volume encyclopedia available. The CD-ROM is painless to install. The integration into MS Word is only mildly quirky - for most terms the desired reference information pops up within seconds and is reasonably relevant. David R. Bannon, Ph.D.; author "Race Against Evil."
22 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The 1972 Langer was THE standard reference for history students, as I ws for six years of graduate school. It bailed me out numerous times. It parallels the value of the CRC for chemistry students or the OED for scholars of the English language. This splendid revision and updating belongs in the collection of anyone wanting a handy, convenient reference to all phases of history. It has splendid essays that lay out the basics in many fields, like art, math, science, and culture. It should not be the last word on a topic, which you can get from poking through amazon.com, or visitng your local library. The CD-ROM is a dream, and the maps printed out fine, even though they are just an outline of say, the partition of Africa. As for Lindbergh, the error was perpetuated from the 1972 book, but that should not detract from the overwhelmingly excellent job. Any general reference work that cites my obscure dissertation hero, even thought it is spelled in the English and not the Polish style, is truly remarkable!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Just what we needed
One of the best, reliable and ample references you can get, because sometimes you really need the facts
Published 19 months ago by TVA7321
The Encylopedia of World History
This is a great book and will help me get a good grade in my current course of study.
Published on March 16, 2010 by Janine M. Morgan
Not Easy to Read
There is a lot of information in this encyclopedia, but it is not easy to read. If you need an immediate answer at a glance it is helpful but I think it is not fluent in language... Read more
Published on December 27, 2008 by Sulen Sarioglu
First rate quick reference
Not for reading, but for looking up details while reading other materials or quick confirmation of background information that comes up in discussion or newspaper/magazine articles... Read more
Published on November 9, 2005 by Christopher D. Junker
Great Teaching Resource
I teach a 100 level art history at a univeristy and this is an excellent resource to accompany my lectures. My only complaint is not with the book but with whoever shipped it. Read more
Published on October 24, 2005 by N. Cardassilaris
Leave this one at the library.
This is a wonderful encyclopedia, but it's so packed with general information that I believe it would be best kept at the library for a quick reference to dates and events. Read more
Published on September 21, 2005 by Maritsa
Wonderfully detailed but not for kids
This book was incredibly detailed. If you want a year by year reference, this is for you. However, we needed a family general history encyclepedia and this wasn't that. Read more
Published on August 9, 2005 by JN Turner
Massive source of history knowledge
The best part about this book is the CD that comes with it. Anytime I come across someone or something I don't know much about, I just type it in and get all related entries. Read more
Published on July 4, 2005 by Pistol Pete
Typical ivory tower academic bias
Don't look to this book for a balanced even-handed look at history. It has the unfortunately all-too-typical biases now running rampant on cloistered university campuses. Read more
Published on November 20, 2002
An Encyclopedia of World History
I'm a history buff and I have been using this reference book since 1972. It's the best book of its kind. Whether you want facts, maps, or genealogical tables; it's all there.
Published on April 4, 2002 by Brigitte Gager
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Human beings have flourished on Earth for at least 2.5 million years. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
new coalition cabinet, postclassical era, ambassadorial conference, regional civilizations, interlacustrine region, grand vezir, postclassical period, manorial dues Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Soviet Union, Great Britain, Middle East, South Africa, League of Nations, New Zealand, North Africa, North America, New York, West Germany, United Nations, Latin America, Buenos Aires, Asia Minor, West Africa, Sierra Leone, Supreme Soviet, Roman Catholic, Labour Party, Persian Gulf, New Guinea, People's Party, Western Hemisphere, South Korea, North Korea New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Human beings have flourished on Earth for at least 2.5 million years. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
new coalition cabinet, postclassical era, ambassadorial conference, regional civilizations, interlacustrine region, grand vezir, postclassical period, manorial dues Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Soviet Union, Great Britain, Middle East, South Africa, League of Nations, New Zealand, North Africa, North America, New York, West Germany, United Nations, Latin America, Buenos Aires, Asia Minor, West Africa, Sierra Leone, Supreme Soviet, Roman Catholic, Labour Party, Persian Gulf, New Guinea, People's Party, Western Hemisphere, South Korea, North Korea New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
9
books
cite this book:
See all 9 books citing this book
- Navigating World History: Historians Create a Global Past by Patrick Manning on page 44, and Back Matter
- Navigating World History: Historians Create a Global Past by Patrick Manning on page 47, and Back Matter
- Generational Dynamics: Forecasting America's Destiny by John J. Xenakis in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Recommended Reference Books for Small and Medium-sized Libraries and Media Centers 2002: by Wynar on page 103
- Embracing History's Lessons: What Every College Graduate Should Know by Jay R. Allgood in Back Matter
See all 9 books citing this book
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