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Ancient World History: Patterns of Interaction
MCDOUGAL LITTEL
625 pages, Hardcover
First published February 28, 2002
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26 people want to read
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May 31, 2017
I have not read many history textbooks in my life, and even in my youth I didn't read our class textbooks cover to cover. On the one hand that puts me at a disadvantage in rating this book since I have little to compare it to, but on the other hand it gives me the advantage of a clean slate when rating this book. Regardless if it is an advantage or disadvantage in rating this book, I found this textbook to be an excellent one.
The best part of this book is its readability. The writing flows in a way that is cohesive, coherent, and easy to see causality. Chapters are laid out in an organized manner with plenty of helps and guides along the way. Sidebar graphics and explanatory notes aid in understanding key facts, figures, and era or cultural considerations. There is liberal use of helpful maps and illustrations so as to make the historical story even more understandable.
The one downside I spotted, and this is something that plagues history books so I didn't reduce my rating on account of it, is that the authors load up the pages in certain parts of history and leave out or skim over other parts. Understandably, the authors are Euro-centric, though they do a good job of spreading around the pages for the truly ancient parts of history. All history books that summarize thousands of years of history inevitably will leave out or minimize certain eras and locations, so I think the authors have done a reasonable job of including as much as they can.
The best part of this book is its readability. The writing flows in a way that is cohesive, coherent, and easy to see causality. Chapters are laid out in an organized manner with plenty of helps and guides along the way. Sidebar graphics and explanatory notes aid in understanding key facts, figures, and era or cultural considerations. There is liberal use of helpful maps and illustrations so as to make the historical story even more understandable.
The one downside I spotted, and this is something that plagues history books so I didn't reduce my rating on account of it, is that the authors load up the pages in certain parts of history and leave out or skim over other parts. Understandably, the authors are Euro-centric, though they do a good job of spreading around the pages for the truly ancient parts of history. All history books that summarize thousands of years of history inevitably will leave out or minimize certain eras and locations, so I think the authors have done a reasonable job of including as much as they can.
Displaying 1 of 1 review