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A History of the Modern World, with PowerWeb (Hardcover)
by R. R. Palmer, Joel Colton, Lloyd Kramer
Category:
World history, History of civilization, Humanity studies |
Market price: ¥ 1048.00
MSL price:
¥ 1008.00
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Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
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Good for Gifts
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MSL Pointer Review:
Despite its discouraging length, Palmer's book is extremely well-written and is the essential book on modern European history. |
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Author: R. R. Palmer, Joel Colton, Lloyd Kramer
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 10 edition
Pub. in: April, 2006
ISBN: 0073255009
Pages: 1,259
Measurements: 10.1 x 7.3 x 2.1 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00652
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0073255002
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- Awards & Credential -
First published half a century ago and now in its 10th edition, this book is a classic text on the history of Europe. |
- MSL Picks -
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.
(From quoting Perelli-Minetti, USA)
Target readers:
History students and lovers, AP Europe takers, people interested in Europe history and culture, academics, university lecturers, public libraries, and people giving this book as a gift.
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R. R. Palmer received his B. A. from the University of Chicago, his Ph.D from Cornell University, and honorary degrees from the Universities of Uppsala and Toulouse. He taught at Princeton University, Washington University, and Yale University before retiring in 1977. The author of Twelve Who Ruled: The Year of the Terror in the French Revolution, Age of the Democratic Revolution, The World of the French Revolution, and The Improvement of Humanity: Education and the French Revolution, Palmer has also translated such books as Georges Lefebvre's, Coming of the French Revolution, Louis Bergeron's, France Under Napoleon, and Jean-Paul Bertaud's, Army of the French Revolution and has served as editor and translator of From Jacobin to Liberal: Marc-Antoine Jullian, 1775-1848. He served as President of the American Historical Association in 1970 and has been the recipient of the Bancroft Prize, 1960 and The Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize for History in Rome, 1990.
Joel Colton received his B. A. from City College of New York and his Ph.D from Columbia University. He served as Professor of History at Duke University from 1947-1989, as the Director of Research and Fellowship Programs in Humanities at the Rockefeller Foundation and as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Guggenheim, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. His books include Compulsory Labor Arbitration in France, 1936-1939, Leon Blum: Humanist in Politics(for which he won the Mayflower Award), and Twentieth Century and he has made numerous contributions to journals, encyclopedias and collaborative volumes.
Lloyd Kramer received his M. A. from Boston College and his PhD from Cornell University. He is currently Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he specializes in Modern European History with an emphasis on 19th century France, Global History and cross-cultural exchanges in Modern World History. His publications include Threshold of a New World: Intellectuals and Exile Experience in Paris, 1830-1848; Lafayette in Two Worlds: Public Cultures and Personal Identities in an Age of Revolutions; Nationalism: Political Cultures in Europe and America, 1775-1865. He is co-editor of Learning History in America: Schools Cultures and Politics and has contributed Literature, Criticism, and Historical Imagination: The Literacy Challenge of Hayden White and Dominick LaCapra to The New Cultural History.
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From Publisher
A History of the Modern World is a careful, well-written narrative of major events from the late Middle Ages to the political and religious conflicts at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It offers a wide-ranging survey that helps readers understand both the complexities of great events (e.g., the French Revolution, the First World War, or the collapse of great imperial systems) and the importance of historical analysis. It also provides a careful summary of the modern political changes that have affected the social and cultural development of all modern cultures.
Throughout the book's lifetime, A History of the Modern World has been hailed as an elegantly written historical narrative, filled with analysis and balanced historical insights as well as its traditional attention to the processes of historical change, conflict, and political transformations. The tenth edition has been updated to include the clear maps, the survey of global economic connections, the chronologies, the illustrations, and the up-to-date bibliographies that today's students need and expect.
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View all 7 comments |
Nathan Lee (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-27 00:00>
Palmer's History of the Modern World is truly a masterpiece in historical writing. For a general survey of European history, the text has such impressive depth, it could easily replace dozens of volumes on the broad subject. It is written in an intelligent style with sentence structure that condenses incredibly complex ideas into digestable size. Naysayers who claim this book to be too difficult for high school reading in an AP class should remember that an AP class is college level, and if you should ever hope to understand European history, you're lucky to have it all accurately and concisely given to you in this book. This book has high demands on the reader, but the returns are equally high.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-27 00:00>
I used this book for AP Modern European History, but after the exam was over, I refused to sell it back. The book is informative and very well-written; it does not "dumb down" history in any way, and it presents a coherent, philosophical approach to a complex subject. The book's organization is very good, and it even reads like a particulary interesting novel at some points. I have found myself going back to it again and again to check up on details; I have recently used it in my university French and political science courses. The text embraces a wide variety of topics in history and never ceases to give a fascinating approach to modern European history.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-27 00:00>
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!
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Anna Carella (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-27 00:00>
I am not exceptionally scholarly, although I would have to say that it takes some scholarly motivation to read over 1000 pages of dense historical writing in one's free time. Yet I found this book, which is often used as a textbook, very easy to read. It doesn't quite read like fiction as some lively historical accounts can, but that would be a difficult task given this broad a subject.
Palmer leaves very few questions unanswered. He adds a good amount of political commentary and speculation to keep it interesting and to show the relevance of events to today's world, but not too much that you feel he's biased in any way. He also gives short, informative bios on important individuals so that, even though he doesn't have time to delve deeply into any particular one, you get a feel for the personal motivations of all. His maps are fabulous, perhaps the best feature. They help to visualize the changes over time. Also, when he discusses territories he tends to explain them in terms of today. This is important because with the territories changing hands so often in history, it is difficult to conceptualize how these past kingdoms relate to the modern nations of Europe. He also is very clear in distinguishing between the natives and the conquering groups, including language differences. This is crucial to understand today, as nationalism movements flourish again after the breakup of the stabilizing and static bipolar international system (i.e. the breakup of the Soviet Union). Palmer's book is very good for this purpose.
I highly recommend it to anyone looking to brush up on their knowledge of history (who has some time on their hands). It's really an excellent book! I plan to use it as my history bible and reference it often. I will also use it as a jumping-off point for further reading. At the end of the book, Palmer includes a comprehensive, 91-page "suggestions for further reading" covering every topic he discusses for further reading/research. It is a goldmine of reading material!
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