historical bibliography western civilization ii

Faculty wanting to use only portion of the book in their classes will have no trouble doing so. With only one author, the books style and organization are consistent throughout the book.Įach chapter is neatly divided and subdivided based on major concepts and events. Formally, the reading level of the text hovers around 'college level' with the occasional passages reaching 'graduate level.' Some instructors may find this a detraction given that many of the book produced by big publishers hover between high school and college rather than college and grad school. There is even a bit of humor running through the book that makes it read more like a conversation and less like a formal lecture. The book thus avoids the shift from history to journalism that other textbooks, which carry to the present day risk. However, major events like Brexit are still covered, so the book isn't immediately dated. That's when history and current events begin to blend together, and the primary sources necessary for historical analysis aren't always available (government documents being classified, for example). The general content of the book ends a little past the turn of the millennium, which I think is a wise choice. Other OER history textbooks I've reviewed have been so slanted one would think they were endorsed by particular political parties. It was also laudably unbiased, especially when discussing events and concepts that tend to lend themselves to polarization (such the as the use of the Bomb and political/social movements).

That is an excellent tool for students who may not have taken those classes and are literally jumping into Western Civ in the 19th century without any kind of broader historical context.īoth the areas with which I'm generally familiar, and the areas I'm more familiar, the text was accurate and error free. The only reason it doesn't get a 5/5 is because there is no index or glossary, though a simple 'Ctrl-F' can substitute for an index and an online dictionary can substitute for a glossary.Ī particularly useful portion of the book is the intro, which introduces the question of 'What is the West' and include a brief summary of how the concept developed over the time periods covered in the first 2 volumes. Instead, this book provides pages on major items, paragraphs on minor items, and sentences on details that allow the student to be alerted to the existence of the concept and research it further on their own. Current textbooks tend to bloat and cover details or topics that aren't necessary in a 100 level class. This is just the right level of details for a survey course. Nothing seemed overly detailed, and nothing important was left out. The book does an excellent job providing a general survey of the 19th and 20th century. Sargeant Reynolds Community College on 3/24/22 Reviewed by Chris Thomas, Associate Professor and Program Head, J. Journalism, Media Studies & Communications +.

Historical bibliography western civilization ii