The Encyclopedia of World History (Hardcover)

by Peter N. Stearns (Editor) "Human beings have flourished on Earth for at least 2.5 million years..." (more)
Key Phrases: new coalition cabinet, postclassical era, ambassadorial conference, Soviet Union, Great Britain, Middle East (more...)

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

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

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1057 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 6 edition (September 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395652375
• ISBN-13: 978-0395652374
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #406,966 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent resource for both students and professionals, March 7, 2002

By	Kerry Walters (Lewisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Single Volume Reference Available, May 2, 2003

By	David R. Bannon, Ph.D. (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

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."

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Updated, May 31, 2002

By A Customer

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!