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Author Name: Stearns, Peter N.
Title: Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World: 1750 to the Present [Hardcover]
Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: New
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA 3/28/08
ISBN Number: 0195176324 / 9780195176322
Seller ID: 0108GVX5RBV
This massive encyclopedia covers world history from the middle of the 18th century (i.e., the Industrial Revolution) to the present (including Benazir Bhutto's 2007 assassination). The statistics about the set are impressive: 2000 AtoZ entries, almost 1200 contributors, 600plus photographs, and a 355page index. Each entry-ranging in length from a few paragraphs to almost 10,000 words-contains several crossreferences and an occasionally annotated bibliography. An alphabetical list of articles in the first volume and a topical outline serve as useful access points. According to editor Stearns (history, George Mason Univ.), the work seeks to explore links between past history and contemporary developments. In addition, the text emphasizes world history, avoiding the Eurocentric bias so prevalent in much of the literature until recently. The range of entries is eclectic, covering places (e.g., Kyrgyzstan), historical events (e.g., My Lai massacre), cultural and social issues (e.g., Old Age, world music), political and economic topics (e.g., torture, trading blocs, common markets), and religion (e.g., Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, atheism, agnoticism), among many other topics. Fans of the movie The Graduate take note: there is an entry for plastics! College and high school students might find that the clearly written entries work best as starting points for further research. While many essays provide balanced coverage of controversial issues (e.g., afrocentrism, abortion), a few articles (e.g., the one on the ArabIsraeli conflict) are marred by polemical prose. BOTTOM LINE Wikipedia readers have come to expect biased articles written by advocates, but an encyclopedia like thisshould have avoided polemics altogether to be as authoritative as possible
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670.50 USD
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