The West and the World: A Topical History of Civilization

by Kevin Reilly

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060453451
• ISBN13: 9780060453459
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 570 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

First edition of this classic history text

Review from a more recent edition of this book: Review "Reilly's text is the most teachable . . . one of the best conceived chronological narratives of world history . " --Lynda Schaffer (Tufts University) Product Description This text engages students and provokes discussion by presenting the past through the prism of current and perennial issues. Interpretive chapters on such topics as gender, religion, war, ecology, and nationalism create both thematic narratives and the strands of a larger chronological account. The book makes great ideas accessible, explores major historical turning points, and reveals the dynamic of increasing global interactions (trade, migrations, etc.). It also compares cultures and civilizations while giving voice to individual lives. Economics and ecology, racism and nationalism, individuality and mass culture are explored. Interpreting The Modern World, February 5, 2006 By Chimonsho (Turtle Island) - See all my reviews Reilly's book is a quite serviceable introduction to modern world history. It is not a conventional survey text (you know, the kind with 4 authors, 8 editions, and precious little pizzazz), but rather an interpretive study comprising a series of closely linked essays on key historical issues: industrialization, racism, individualism, nationalism, etc. The author's deft explication of political ideas is probably his strongest suit. Still, there's plenty of facts and data here, so it can be used in college courses or read with profit by the educated public. Uncluttered, well-drawn maps help students locate places mentioned in the text, and the illustrations are also valuable. The cost is very reasonable, about $50 less than the average survey text. The publisher has kept the price down by reducing production costs; this shows in the absence of color pictures, and the index is so skimpy that it's not really adequate. A more serious flaw is the overall neglect of gender, and women's history in general. Though the book has been updated since the last edition in 1989, it has a vaguely archaic feel to it now, as if the perspective hasn't changed much since the Cold War despite the added detail. Still, it has many merits, not least an accessible style and the author's willingness to offer boldly-stated opinions. On balance, Markus Weiner has done well to make this new version available.