Exploring World History

Explore World History Student Book

The Student Book has 15 chapters divided into 3 types: Keys to History, Historical Eras, and Historical Themes. Key chapters feature World Geography, Study Tools, and Biographies. The 6 Era chapters follow a chronology from Early Humans to Modern Times. Theme chapters focus on major historical concepts, like Agriculture or Trade, and are linked to a particular era. Chapters follow a consistent format: Introduction, Vocabulary, Big Idea, Important Topics, Review, and Write About It. The simplified text is heavily illustrated and intended to be read to students who are nonreaders. Students are frequently presented with important study tools like timelines, maps, and tables

Plagues in World History

Plagues in World History provides a concise, comparative world history of catastrophic infectious diseases, including plague, smallpox, tuberculosis, cholera, influenza, and AIDS. Geographically, these diseases have spread across the entire globe; temporally, they stretch from the sixth century to the present. John Aberth considers not only the varied impact that disease has had upon human history but also the many ways in which people have been able to influence diseases simply through their cultural attitudes toward them. The author argues that the ability of humans to alter disease, even without the modern wonders of antibiotic drugs and other medical treatments, is an even more crucial lesson to learn now that AIDS, swine flu, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, and other seemingly incurable illnesses have raged worldwide. Aberth's comparative analysis of how different societies have responded in the past to disease illuminates what cultural approaches have been and may continue to be most effective in combating the plagues of today.

Exploring America