Chronologically traces the course of human history and civilization from prehistoric times to the present day, covering key events, people, inventions and discoveries, and ideas and beliefs.

Includes maps of: Human Migration; Spread of Agriculture; Metal Moves West; [Mesopotamia]; [Indus Valley]; Shang Dynasty, China; Height of Egyptian Control; Olmec Civilization; [Great Powers of the Middle East, c. 1350 B.C.E.]; Assyrian Empire; Kingdom of Saba; Great Wall of China; Persian Empire under Xerxes I, 485-465 B.C.E.; Conquests of Alexander the Great; [Herodotus' View of the World]; Roman World; Han Dynasty, China; [Trade Routes]; Spreading the Faith; Mongolian Empire; Empires of Southeast Asia; Spread of Islam; Missionary Zeal [Islam]; India, 750-1450; Silk Road under the Mongols; Plague Migration; Shrinking [Byzantine] Empire; Crusades to the East; Ottoman Empire; Civilizations of America, c. 1520; Expedition Routes; Colonial North America; Qing Territory; Mughal Territory; [Ottoman Empire]; Mercator Map; Reformation in Europe; Battle of White Mountain, 1620; Early European Voyages in the Pacific Ocean; Napoleonic Empire; Changing European Boundaries, 1815-1914; World in 1900; Colonial Africa; Western Front [WWI]; Axis in Europe; Road to Berlin; [Japan's] Pacific Empire; U.N. Partition Plan; Former U.S.S.R. in 1991; Countries of the E.U.; Urban Growth. "First American edition, 2007"--t.p. verso. Includes index.

Origins -- Rulers & Hierarchies -- Thinkers & Believers -- Warriors, Travelers, & Inventors -- Renaissance & Reformation -- Industry & Revolution -- Population & Power -- National Histories.