World History For Dummies

Description

Now updated - this is the one-stop guide to significant events in world history. Written for students and lifelong learners, this detailed overview of human history takes readers from the discovery of fire to the birth of the Internet. It features new coverage of significant events that have reshaped our world view: the events of September 11, 2001; the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; recent responses climate change; the rise of China, India, and Brazil as world economic powers; and the natural disasters of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka and Indonesia. It also explores the current trends in historical research and how researchers are re-examining everything from the writings of Marco Polo to the arrival of humans in the Americas.

Author description

Peter Haugen is a prolific history writer. In addition to authoring and contributing to several books, his work has appeared in publications including History Magazine, mental-floss, and Psychology Today. Haugen has served on the staffs of such newspapers as the St. Petersburg Times and the Sacramento Bee.

Table of contents

Introduction. Part I: Getting into History. Chapter 1: Tracing a Path to the Present. Chapter 2: Digging Up Reality. Chapter 3: Putting History into Perspective. Part II: Finding Strength in Numbers. Chapter 4: Getting Civilized. Chapter 5: The Rise and Fall of Many Empires. Chapter 6: History's Mid-Life Crisis: The Middle Ages. Chapter 7: The Struggle for World Domination. Chapter 8: Grabbing the Globe. Chapter 9: Clashing All Around the World. Part III: Seeking Answers. Chapter 10: Religion through the Ages. Chapter 11: Loving Wisdom: The Rise and Reach of Philosophy. Chapter 12: Being Christian, Thinking Greek. Chapter 13: Awakening to the Renaissance. Chapter 14: Making a Break: The Reformation. Chapter 15: Opening Up to Science and Enlightenment. Part IV: Fighting, Fighting, Fighting. Chapter 16: Sticks and Stones: Waging War the Old-Fashioned Way. Chapter 17: The War Machine Gets Some Upgrades. Chapter 18: Modernized Mayhem. Part V: Meeting the Movers and Shakers. Chapter 19: Starting Something Legendary. Chapter 20: Battling Toward Immortality. Chapter 21: Explorers and Discoverers: Places to Go, People to See. Chapter 22: Turning Tables: Rebels and Revolutionaries. Part VI: The Part of Tens. Chapter 23: Ten Unforgettable Dates in History. Chapter 24: Ten Essential Historical Documents. Index.