Encyclopedia of World History (Facts on File Library of World History) [Hardcover]

Marsha E. Ackermann (Author), Michael Schroeder Marsha E. Ackermann (Author), Marsha E. Ackermann (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8–10—Much broader in scope than the publisher's 2000 single-volume work of the same title, this resource divides recorded history into six unequal chronological slices. The focus is global, though inconsistently so; for instance, "Greek War of Independence" is longer than "Vietnam War," and George Washington gets considerably fewer column inches than Josef Stalin. The first six volumes open with a chronology and an overview essay that considers its period in light of six universal themes, such as "technological progress" and "warfare." The more than three hundred articles that follow range in length from approximately half of a two-column page to two or three pages, with larger topics subdivided to aid digestibility. Most articles end with a reading list and, where appropriate, cross-references—though only to entries within the same volume. Each volume also includes a fair number of murky black-and-white photos or period illustrations, a section of color maps, and an individual index. The last book contains the full texts of 110 primary-source documents, plus a "master" index that includes neither those documents nor, aside from the maps, any illustration entries. Though current enough to include the U.S. death toll in Iraq as of April 2008—in an article clumsily titled "Gulf War, Second (Iraq War)"—this set's arbitrary organization, unsystematic cross-referencing, and incomplete indexing mean that it is no substitute for the excellent Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History (Berkshire Pub., 2005) or even Facts On File's own online databases.—John Peters, New York Public Library
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 3760 pages
• Publisher: Facts on File; 1 edition (June 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816063869
• ISBN-13: 978-0816063864
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.2 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 23.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,689,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential and core addition that is as praiseworthy, August 8, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia of World History (Facts on File Library of World History) (Hardcover)

Even in this age of online databases, print editions of encyclopedias have their necessary place within personal, professional, academic, and community library reference collections. This is especially true of the new Facts On File seven volume "Encyclopedia Of World History". The collaborative editorial work of Marsha E. Ackermann, Michael J. Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, and Mark F. Whitters, the "Encyclopedia Of World History" provides an informed and informative, balanced and globally oriented perspective on human history in full accordance with academic standards for history. Enhanced with thematic essays designed to assist students in making comparisons and connections across different regions and time periods; primary source documents representative of six distinct world eras; cross-referenced entries; a chronology for each individual volume; more than 600 illustrations (including a 32-page insert of full color maps) for each volume in order to convey the importance of geography within the context of world history; recommended reading sections for further study; individual volume indexes and a comprehensive set index, "Encyclopedia Of World History" is an essential and core addition that is as praiseworthy for its 'user friendly' layout as it is for its breadth and comprehensive coverage of recorded history.

1 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do better with Africa, October 3, 2010

By 

Donna Bailey "the-truth-about-books" (Jamaica) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encyclopedia of World History (Facts on File Library of World History) (Hardcover)

Your entry on Ethiopia/Abyssinia is quite repulsive. Why is the caption under a man in animal skin is labelled as An Ethiopian chief, possibly Menelik?

You should explicitly say Menelik II instead of Menelik as there were more than one,this should be done even if the timeline and context would rule out Menelik I, this is true especially for captions. would you show an english king and say possible Henry? which Henry? Would you call an English king a chief?

Menelik II was Negus (king) at one time and then n'gusä nägäst, (King of Kings). he was king of Shewa and then Emperor of Ethiopia not a chief, the word chief is used to describe petty rulers. lastly, why do you use a picture of a man in skins as opposed to the more majestic picture of Menelik II at his coronation? Wikipedia shows him at his coronation and the Britannica shows him on a white steed, much the same respect for any European monarch. If this picture is him it would be fine as long as other pictures are there showing him in his other capacities, if for brevity you show only one picture it should be one that depicts the principal part of his life.

You should use Wikipedia and the Britannica more often, I certainly will encourage my children to use them rather than this trash you publish.