William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel's brief, highly readable overview of world history explores common challenges and experiences of the human past, and identifies key regional patterns over time. Some chapters focus on specific geographical regions, while others take a comparative or thematic approach in deference to the interconnection that marks developments in the world today.

This approach helps students link events together in a broad comparative and global framework, and see the contemporary world in a meaningful historical context. Features--including diverse primary sources, primary source analysis activities, and new analyses of popular films to show how movies represent and misrepresent history--help you spark students' interest and engage them in thinking globally.

Available in the following split options: THE ESSENTIAL WORLD HISTORY, 9th Edition Complete, Volume I: To 1800 and Volume II: Since 1500.