World Access [Hardcover]

Ross Petras (Author), Kathryn Petras (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 4, 1996

Including lists and brief biographies, this guide explains such things as: religion, from Christianity to Shintoism; music, from string quartets to reggae; and politics, from revolutions to the most influential leaders in the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Petrases, a former TV news producer and a former Foreign Service officer, set out to provide provincial Americans with the basics "of what an educated citizen of the world should or might want to know" about the world outside the borders of the United States. Similar in scope to Judy Jones's Incomplete Education (LJ 10/1/95), the book furnishes historical and current multicultural information in an informal style with occasional offhand statements, e.g., "Bach didn't make big bucks off the sale of copies of his work." Subtopics are arranged within ten subject chapters: history, philosophy, religion, art and architecture, literature, drama and film, music, languages, political geography, and politics. Photographs, maps, information boxes, timelines, and some well-placed trivia lend variety to the text. A continuing theme of America's relationship with international phenomena. Recommended for most public libraries as an addition to their cultural literacy collections.?Stanley P. Hodge, Ball State Univ. Lib., Muncie, Ind.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Booklist

This volume is an attempt--a first, according to the authors--at a world cultural almanac. Their purpose is to provide readers with "information about the great thinkers, writers, artists, and politicians of cultures other than our own--the philosophies, revolutions, political and artistic movements that changed the world--that many of us know little (if anything) about."

The scope includes all cultures and countries except the U.S. The book is divided into 10 main sections that cover history, religion, art and architecture, music, literature, language, etc. Technology and science are ignored except for a small sidebar of information. Each chapter opens with a brief introduction and a table of contents that leads one to the information provided in small bite-sized units of essential facts. For example, there are brief summaries of Chinese dynasties, biographies of philosophers and artists, a box with the equivalent of the Golden Rule in different religions, definitions of different schools of art with lists of leading practitioners, and summaries of important books. The maps provided are roughly sketched, unprecise line drawings of limited value. Black-and-white photographs illustrate some chapters.

Although the concept of expanding our cultural awareness beyond the U.S. is admirable, it is doubtful that any library with an encyclopedia and almanac will need to purchase this work for the reference collection. There is nothing new provided in the way of accessing the information. If a library receives requests to purchase, this could be acquired as a circulating item. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 4, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068481479X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684814797
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,920,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A excellent book that should be read by all Americans, August 5, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: World Access: The Handbook for Citizens of the Earth (Paperback)

The scope of this book is incredible: to give a brief overview of all non-American cultures in the world. This includes history, music, art, literature, politics and much more. The book is written in an easy-to-read style. Although it can be used as a reference guide, I read the book straight through from cover to cover.

This is the book for you if you feel asleep during high-school history/art/social studies classes and now find yourself clueless about the world outside the U.S. It is very up to date (including the assassination of Perez) and hopefully will be reprinted yearly.