Study Guide to Accompany a History of the Modern World

by Joel Colton and Lloyd Kramer

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0072417862
• ISBN13: 9780072417869
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Langua
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 7.0" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

This is THE text of Modern European History

It is difficult to add to what reviewers have already provided. I used this text when I was a classroom AP teacher for a number of reasons. Among those reasons was that while most K-12 textbooks are the product of a committee, (committee- a terrestrial life form having at least six legs and no brain.) this book is largely the work of the late Dr. Robert Roswell Palmer. It was written as if the author felt that the history of Modern Europe was not a collection of chapters but rather a story, a narrative to be read the way one reads a novel. There is a continuity to the writing and an elegance of prose that can only be achieved by a text like this. Dr. Palmer was a wonderful historian and a marvellously accessable teacher who took the time to answer letters personally on his old manual typewriter. His passing is lamented.

Comprehensive, compulsive, fun, & enjoyable

I bought this book because for a while now I have been reading up on world history. Also, many of the customer reviews for the book seemed extremely positive. I can now say that this book was as good as the reviews and as good or better than any other such books that I have read. When considering single (or, in this case, double) volumes that cover such a massive topic area, two complaints commonly crop up. The first is usually that such a work is too dense or impenetrable for casual history-enthusiasts. Normally, I argue that this can only be expected; but in this case I think I can say that the book shouldn't be too much of a problem for most people, even if they are fairly new to reading up on history. Also, with some focus on the lighter (or more cultured) aspects of history - such as the development of European art, etc - I found there to be plenty of breathing space between paragraphs that were perhaps more challenging. The second complaint usually has it that one or two volumes surely cannot boast of being a 'history of the WHOLE world'. Again, I normally counter this by saying that of course this cannot be expected either. Naturally, the full history of the whole world cannot be condensed into merely a few thousand pages. However, in the case of "A History of the 'Modern' World", this argument is almost redundant. The book does not promise to review every culture and history that has been; it promises to consider the 'modern world' and discuss where that came from. i.e., if a culture no longer exists and had little effect on the world, then it is not really for the book to consider. Put another way, the emphasis is on the cultures and civilisations of yesterday and how they all came together and influenced each other to form the cultures and civilisations of today. Given that the thesis of this book is therefore more specific than is often assumed, I felt that everything was covered exceptionally well. So, in brief, this book is neither too dense or too brief. Further, I found it to be a highly compulsive read that kept me turning the pages at home, on the bus, on the train, and at various breaks during my working day. The material was fascinating and fairly well balanced and I believe that it put reasonably fair emphasis on most of the cultures of the world relative to their size and influence, etc. I also found it to compliment nicely all other books I've read on the subject, and its maps and graphs did a lot to help me process the information and gain a good understanding. Most importantly, though, is that it was just plain fun and enjoyable. I recommend this book very highly.

An invaluable resource, A remarkable book

A History of the Modern World is an informative, all-encompassing compendium on European history. I was able to attain a 5 on the AP European History exam independent of teaching instruction and based on this book alone. And yet, even if I hadn't reaped an academic reward from this book, the experience of reading it carries a reward in of itself, for I genuinely feel as though this book changed my perspective on society. As the narrative of European history progresses, from the Renaissance to recent European events, Palmer's eloquent and informative prose allowed me to interpret patterns in social structure, politics, and economics that, I feel, give me a greater perspective on modern society. In that sense, A History of the Modern World is a book that holds great gratification for serious and committed readers- in or outside the classroom.

The First and Last Book to Read on the Rise of Modern Europe

The first edition of this classic was published in 1950, and in the most recent editions it remains the best single volume survey of the rise of modern Europe. Palmer is justly famous for his work on The Age of Democratic Revolutions and had a wonderful gift for synthesis and exposition. Palmer is a marvelous stylist who writes for the intelligent student or curious general reader, yet maintains a very high scholarly standard.Some reviewers have complained that this book is perhaps difficult, but I am hard pressed to see why. The book was originally written as a text to be used in the traditional introductory freshman survey course in Western Civilization at the top tier colleges and universities, where it has proved itself both approachable and thorough over 50 years. It provides a coherent, mainstream interpretation which gives the reader sufficient factual material and critical analysis to think intelligently about modern history, while alerting the interested reader to some of the major issues of historical interpretation.When I was a graduate student in European history some 30 years ago, A History of the Modern World was THE book that doctoral candidates were advised to reread at the end of their preparation for both written and oral exams, to make sure that after all of the specialized and deep work, they had a solid overall perspective and could fully integrate their knowledge into the larger framework of the development of modern Europe.There are very few books in any field so good that they could be recommended as both the first and last book one reads as a student of the topic. A History of the Modern World stands out among even that select group.

A huge book - in every way!

This classic is a must for everyone who appreciates well-written history books. Palmer and Colton's gargantuan "History of the Modern World" conveys a vast amount of knowledge in an interesting manner (although at times close to unbearably dense)and its ideas and perspectives are always relevant, new and enlightening. This is a great supplementary text for every European history course you may be taking or teaching. It is also a treasure chest of historic personalities, events and a panoply of culure through the ages. And a look at the enormous Bibliography will convince you that this book was indeed written by two first-rate scholars. Don't let the price scare you, it is a tremendous read, wonderfully presented, perfectly readable, and it's about as much fun as 800 pages of history can be!