World History: A Concise Thematic Analysis

World History: A Concise Thematic Analysis presents the highly anticipated second edition of the most affordable and accessible survey of world history designed for use at the college level. An engaging narrative that contextualizes history and does not drown students in a sea of facts Offers a comparative analysis of the great civilizations of Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas Addresses themes of population dynamics, food production challenges, disease history, warfare, and other major issues for civilizations Features new interior design and organization to enhance user experience Instructor's test bank available online at www.wiley.com/go/wallech.

World History: A Concise Thematic Analysis -- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- UNIT ONE The Ancient World -- THEMES -- The artificial existence of civilization -- The biology of civilization -- The geography of civilization -- The climate of civilization -- The relationship between belief and action -- CHAPTER 1 BIOLOGY AND WORLD HISTORY: Civilization and Nomads -- Climate -- The Geography of Cultivation -- The Domestication of Animals -- Urban Development -- The Nomads -- Disease History -- Suggested Reading -- CHAPTER 2 MESOPOTAMIA: The Land between the Rivers -- A Temple Economy -- The Causes of Trade -- Kings, War, and Ecocide -- The Art of Writing and Hammurabi's Code -- The General Matrix of Civilization -- The Dawn of Religion: Creation Myths -- Iron and Mesopotamia -- The Hebrews -- The Emergence of Monotheism -- Suggested Readings -- CHAPTER 3 PRE-ISLAMIC AFRICA: Egyptian, Nilotic, and Sub-Saharan Africa -- Egypt, the Gift of the Nile -- The Archaic Period (ca. 3100-2700 BCE) and the Pyramid Age of the Old Kingdom (ca. 2700-2200 BCE) -- The First Intermediate Period (ca. 2200-2000 BCE) and the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2000-1786 BCE) -- The Hyksos and Second Intermediate Pe…