Civilization past & present II. [antikvár]

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Regional offices of Scott, Foresman and Company are located in Atlanta, Dallas, Glenview, Palo Alto, Oakland, N.J., and London,England. Originally published as a two-volume work in 1942, Civilization Past and Present was the first text of its kind. Its objective was to present a survey of world cultural history treating the de- velopment of man not as a unique European ex- perience but as a global one through which all the great culture systems have interacted to produce the present-day world. The purposes of Civilization, as envisaged in the first edition almost three decades ago, would seem to have even more relevance today. A knowl- edge of western civilization is an essential re- quirement for all college students, but this alone is no longer adequate. Perhaps the most signifi- cant happening in our times is the political and cultural reemergence of the world's nonwestern peoples. They are going to be heard, they will play an increasing role in world affairs, and they must be understood. While the purposes of Civilization have re- mained constant over the years, the authors have attempted to increase its flexibility by responding to changes in teaching methods and curriculum organization. One of the most important trends in college education during the past few years has been the increase in quarter and trimester programing. Since two-volume and single- volume basic texts are often not best suited to meet the needs of this trend, the sixth edition of Civilization Past and Present has been restructured in three books to provide schools that have left the traditional two-semester plan with a more flexible text. Book One covers the ancient and medieval periods; Book Two surveys early mod- ern times to 1815, with an opening chapter over- lap back into the first book providing a bridge between the late medieval period and the Ren- aissance. Book Three examines political, cultural, and socioeconomic history from the advent of the nineteenth century to the 1970's. As in the Preface to the sixth edition of Civili- zation, the authors wish to acknowledge their indebtedness to a distinguished group of his- torians who performed the helpful role of critical readers. The names of all these scholars are listed on the title page of each book. Whatever merit the text may have is due in no small measure to their painstaking cooperation and invaluable suggestions.