The Encyclopedia of World History Sixth Edition By Peter N. Stearns (editor) Ten years in the making, this large-format edition of the leading world history encyclopedia contains 20,000 entries, from the earliest pre-history to the dawn of the 21st Century. An indispensable work of reference. Includes CD-ROM. ISBN-13: 9780227679685 Specifications: 252x200mm, 1272pp, Hardback with CD-ROM Price: £50.00 • US$102.50 Publication: January 2002 Order this Title Now

About this Book

Completely revised and updated
Easy-to-read new design
More than 20,000 concise entries
52 maps for easy reference
66 genealogical tables
Multiple cross-references between entries
Comprehensive index for quick searches
Incisive overviews of each era and region

For decades William L. Langer's best-selling Encyclopedia of World History was the indispensable, authoritative guide to all of human history. Now, under the direction of a distinguished new editor, comes an updated and dramatically improved version for a new generation, including for the first time a fully searchable CD-ROM of the complete text. The result is a wholly accessible, absorbing canvas of world history that no student, scholar or amateur historian should be without.

Renowned academic Peter N. Stearns and thirty other prominent historians have combined their expertise over the past ten years to perfect this comprehensive chronology of human events. The scope of its 1,200 pages is truly world-wide, and its 20,000 entries span the millennia from prehistoric times to the year 2000. Featuring chronological entries grouped by geographic region, the Encyclopedia allows readers to get an in-depth view of distinct events along with a virtual timeline of human history.

But this new edition is much more than the expansion of a classic; it reflects important recent changes in historical trends and historical thinking. In addition to showcasing traditional facts of national leadership and state power. the Encyclopedia embraces social and cultural developments, non-European history, women's history, religion, health, economics, technology, and other vital but less often reported aspects of the human drama. Here is a chronicle not only of major political events, but of ordinary people, covering shifts in the relationships between men and women, developments in leisure, and demographic currents. And for all periods there are summaries of global developments that cannot be captured in national or regional frameworks.

As the editor notes in his preface, "The world we know historically has greatly changed. The revisions that animate this edition celebrate this change, benefiting from the labours of countless venturesome scholars over the past several decades."

A masterwork with roots dating back to the 19th Century, this new edition will be recognised as the most comprehensive and up to date account of world history for years to come. The Encyclopedia of World History belongs at the elbow of every history lover and of anyone who has ever been curious about our constantly changing, remarkably diverse human story.

Preface to the 6th Edition (HTML)
Preface to the 6th Edition (PDF, 14 KB)
Page 30 (Kingdoms of Western Asia and Africa, to 323 BCE) (PDF, 20 KB)
Page 271 (Eastern Europe, 1300-1500) (PDF, 16 KB)
Page 976 (The Middle East and North Africa, 1945-2000) (PDF, 19 KB)

About the CD-ROM

Features the complete text of the Encyclopedia
Quick and easy to browse through
Quick keyword searching by name, event, place or date
Features 52 colour maps and 66 genealogical tables

The CD-ROM can also be used with any Microsoft Office application: click on a word in MS Word for instance, and the relevant entry in the Encyclopedia appears.

Minimum System Requirements:
PC with Pentium 200 or higher processor • Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows Me • 32 MB of RAM • Hard disk with at least 40 MB of free space • CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive • SVGA 800x600 or higher resolution monitor • Mouse (or other pointing device) and keyboard

Reviews and Comments

"As a devotee for many years of William L. Langer's classic Encyclopedia of World History, I have long yearned for a new edition that would bring this indispensable work up to date and would also reflect new trends in the historical literature. Peter Stearns and his team have now met this need with flair and imagination and with impressive comprehensiveness and accuracy. This splendid volume belongs on the shelf of every history lover."
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

About the Author

Peter N. Stearns is provost and professor of history at George Mason University and is the author or editor of more than seventy books, most recently the Encyclopedia of European Social History. Among his other works are Gender in World History and Teaching, Learning and Knowing History. He lives in Virginia, USA.