civilization

Presents a history of climatic shifts over the past 20,000 years and discusses how civilization rose up during the warm period starting about 15,000 years ago.

Explores the engineering accomplishments of empires around the world and throughout history, as well as the leaders who directed feats of architecture and urban planning, discussing Napoleon, the Byzantines, the world of Leonardo da Vinci, Carthage, China, Russia, Greece, the Aztecs, Britain, the Persians, and the Maya.

An accounting of the key turning points in human history that assisted with the journey from hunter-gatherer to global citizen.

Examines the history of world civilizations from the perspective of the environments in which they developed, looking at seventeen distinct ecosystems, grouped in the categories of desert, tundra, ice; grasslands; tropical lowlands and postglacial forests; drying climates; highlands; the sea; and the oceans.

A collection of academic and political essays written by anthropologist Marshall Sahlins between 1960 and 1998.

Jared Diamond, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies," examines the factors that have led societies to gain power and technological superiority over others throughout history, discussing geography, natural resources, social and agricultural innovations, weapons, and disease.

Contains regional reports on 187 countries, providing information in twenty-five categories, including land and climate, religion, government, economy, education, and language; arranged alphabetically, with maps, statistical tables, and a glossary of cultural terms.

Covers aspects of human cultural and social organization and thought.