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The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History, Volume One
The Earth and Its Peoples was one of the first texts to present world history in a balanced, global framework, shifting the focus away from political centers of power. This truly global text for the world history survey course employs a fundamental theme--the interaction of human beings and the environment--to compare different times, places, and societies. Special emphasis is given to technology (in its broadest sense) and how technological development underlies all human activity. Highly acclaimed in their fields of study, the authors bring a wide array of expertise to the program. A combination of strong scholarship and detailed pedagogy gives the book its reputation for rigor and student accessibility. The Fourth Edition features extensive new coverage of world events, including globalization in the new millennium. Coverage of China has also been extensively reorganized and rewritten.
- GenresHistory
556 pages, Paperback
First published August 3, 2000
55 people want to read
About the author
Richard W. Bulliet
276 books44 followersRichard W. Bulliet is a professor emeritus of history at Columbia University who specializes in the history of Islamic society and institutions, the history of technology, and the history of the role of animals in human society.
Richard grew up in Illinois. He attended Harvard University, from which he received a BA in 1962 and a PhD in 1967.
Several of his books focus on Iran but deal also with the larger Muslim world, including The Patricians of Nishapur: a Study in Medieval Islamic History (1972), Conversion to Islam in the Medieval Period: An Essay in Quantitative History (1979), and Islam: the View from the Edge (1994). His books on a broader view of Islamic history and society include Under Siege: Islam and Democracy (1994) and The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization (2004). His book (1975) brings together his interest in the histories of technology, animal domestication, and the Middle East, dealing for example with the significant military advantage early Muslim armies gained from a slight improvement in the design of cloth camel saddles. He would return to the history of animal domestication with his Hunters, Herders, and Hamburgers: The Past and Future of Human-Animal Relationships (2005).
He is the writer and editor of books of more general interest as well, including The Columbia History of the Twentieth Century (editor, 1998), The Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East (co-editor, 1996), and The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History (co-author, 1997). He has also written several novels which draw on his knowledge of international politics and the Middle East, and is a promoter of the validity of comics as an art form.
His first fiction book, Kicked to Death by a Camel (1973), was nominated for an Edgar for “Best First Mystery”. His other fiction includes Tomb of the Twelfth Imam (1979), The Gulf Scenario (1984), The Sufi Fiddle (1991), and The One-Donkey Solution (2011).
Bulliet’s commentaries and opinion pieces on the Middle East have appeared in such newspapers The Guardian, New York Times International, and Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Richard grew up in Illinois. He attended Harvard University, from which he received a BA in 1962 and a PhD in 1967.
Several of his books focus on Iran but deal also with the larger Muslim world, including The Patricians of Nishapur: a Study in Medieval Islamic History (1972), Conversion to Islam in the Medieval Period: An Essay in Quantitative History (1979), and Islam: the View from the Edge (1994). His books on a broader view of Islamic history and society include Under Siege: Islam and Democracy (1994) and The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization (2004). His book (1975) brings together his interest in the histories of technology, animal domestication, and the Middle East, dealing for example with the significant military advantage early Muslim armies gained from a slight improvement in the design of cloth camel saddles. He would return to the history of animal domestication with his Hunters, Herders, and Hamburgers: The Past and Future of Human-Animal Relationships (2005).
He is the writer and editor of books of more general interest as well, including The Columbia History of the Twentieth Century (editor, 1998), The Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East (co-editor, 1996), and The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History (co-author, 1997). He has also written several novels which draw on his knowledge of international politics and the Middle East, and is a promoter of the validity of comics as an art form.
His first fiction book, Kicked to Death by a Camel (1973), was nominated for an Edgar for “Best First Mystery”. His other fiction includes Tomb of the Twelfth Imam (1979), The Gulf Scenario (1984), The Sufi Fiddle (1991), and The One-Donkey Solution (2011).
Bulliet’s commentaries and opinion pieces on the Middle East have appeared in such newspapers The Guardian, New York Times International, and Süddeutsche Zeitung.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 12, 2022
This textbook is an excellent resource for a World History to 1500 college-level course. It is packed with interesting, unique, and illustrative primary sources from across the globe. The editors did a good job of selecting a good range of different kinds of primary sources. They made sure to include poetry, travel accounts, religious scriptures, official state documents, law codes, and images of artifacts/artworks. An instructor can select the sources they want to use in class. Each source comes with a brief editorial introductory explanation, and a list of discussion questions. The comparative sections at the end of each chapter are really great and for the most part it seemed to me that students enjoyed looking at those. I recommend the paper copy over the ebook version because I ran into some technology issues with the digital copy of the book.
December 7, 2012
Was good.
It is your basic textbook, but mixed in with the material for one of my classes the information actually became entertaining and I would sit in the library for hours actually doing my homework.
(Imagine that)
I really can't see how anyone would find the motivation outside of class to read this, but overall it was a good book.
It is your basic textbook, but mixed in with the material for one of my classes the information actually became entertaining and I would sit in the library for hours actually doing my homework.
(Imagine that)
I really can't see how anyone would find the motivation outside of class to read this, but overall it was a good book.
September 5, 2011
Interesting!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews