Prologue: The Value of European History 1. Early Humans and the Dawn of Civilization 2. Ancient Greece: Politics and War 3. Ancient Greece: Society, Culture, and Daily Life 4. Ancient Rome: Politics and War 5. Ancient Rome: Society, Culture and Daily Life 6. The Middle Ages: Politics and War, 500–1300 7. The Middle Ages: Society, Culture and Daily Life 8. The Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance 9. The Age of Discovery, the Protestant Reformation, and the Wars of Religion, 1492–1648 10. Politics, Colonialism, and War, 1648–1789 11. European Society during the Scientific, Agricultural, and Industrial Revolutions, 1600–1800 12. The Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the Age of Napoleon, 1700–1815 13. Challenging the Conservative Order: Liberalism, Nationalism, and Socioeconomic Change, 1815–50 14. Middle Class Europe: The Triumph of Liberalism and Nationalism and the Rise of Socialism, 1850–1914 15. Industrialization, Imperialism, and Intellectual and Social Change, 1850–1914 16. World War I, 1914–18 17. Interwar Europe, 1919–39 18. World War II, 1939–45 19. The Cold War and the End of European Dominance, 1945–present Epilogue: Europe, the United States, and the World in the 21st Century
Biography
Nicholas L. Waddy is Associate Professor of History at Alfred State College in Alfred, New York, United States. He teaches courses on Western Civilization, African history, and military history.
Praise for the previous edition
"Waddy offers a comprehensive yet accessible text, lucidly written, combining historical interpretation and intriguing facts to engage students. Discussion questions for each chapter serve to focus attention for review, but also serve as invitation to creative and critical reflection by students."
Robert F. Goeckel, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, SUNY College at Geneseo, United States
"Waddy grabs the reader’s attention and never relinquishes it. Written in accessible and witty prose, his text provides a succinct comparative analysis of European communities and their Mediterranean forbearers. Cogent insights on the relevance of the past for the present remind one why history is so essential—why it remains at the core of the liberal arts. The Essential Guide to Western Civilization is a tour de force."
W. Brian Newsome, Professor of History, Elizabethtown College, United States
