Greaves, Richard L., et al. *Civilizations of the World: The Human Adventure*. Two volumes, third edition. New York: Longman, Addison-Wesley Publishers, 1997.

Reviewed by David M. Kalivas, Northeastern University dmk@world.std.com

The general objective of *Civilizations of the World: The Human Adventure* is to offer a global perspective; it more specifically sets out to broaden the western perspective of undergraduates--a frame of reference which is "world history for western students." This is an important and not insignificant task that is undertaken by most world history survey texts, but I can't help wonder if world history texts should aspire toward more integrated global histories; perhaps, a text that could be read with meaning by students across the globe This would require translations into multiple languages; nonetheless, writing for a global student readership would provide world history authors with a global reference point instead of writing from a regional-- hemispheric--vantage point. In this sense, *Civilizations of the World* is a solid survey text in world history written with a western perspective for a western audience.

An important feature of this book is the package of teaching supplements--one hundred color world history map transparencies-- including all the maps used in the text--which make this an effective teaching tool. The text begins with eight full page color maps, which is helpful for students as they begin learning about the connections across the globe. The maps include the following: "Beginnings of Civilizations" "Africa" "Asia" "Australia and Oceania" "Europe" "North America" "South America" "The Contemporary World" The embarkation point for the student's journey into world history artificially splits Europe and Asia into two halves on two pages as if they are different continents; this perpetuates the myth of separate European and Asian continents. In terms of offering a world historical perspective, *Civilizations* would be more effective if it offered a combined map of Eurasia over two pages instead of the current version. Indeed, this raises some relevant issues regarding the study of world history. Do we represent the connections between societies and regional areas by referring to Eurasia, or Afroeurasia, or do we continue with antiquated continent names which reflect attitudes of an imperialist past? The significance of these introductory maps will, of course, depend upon one's perspective.

In the prologue of *Civilizations*, the reader is informed that studying world history assumes a definition of civilization to be "a word derived from civilis, a Latin term meaning or relating to a citizen or a state." This approach implies civilization as good and worth studying while the very basis for civilization--Neolithic and Paleolithic life--appear too primitive and not important for study. Survey texts always face the constraints of time and space, so the authors decided against presenting a chapter on pre-civilized societies. I would have preferred introducing students to the perceptual nature of defining civilization and the problems of not recognizing perceptions of "advanced" and "primitive" as being just that--perceptions .

*Civilizations* launches into the study of civilized societies with a chapter on "The Societies of Western Asia and Egypt." It was nice to see Mesopotamia placed within its geographic context-- "Western Asia" -- but I wondered why Egypt was not referred to as North Africa? There was no mention of Egyptian civilization being significantly influenced from Africa and Asia in this first chapter. In light of recent scholarship on Afroeurasian connections in the development of Egyptian civilization, this omission is a lost opportunity to bring students into a debate over evidence and perceptions in world history.

Primary source evidence is strategically placed throughout the book to support the analytical narratives of each chapter. Additionally, there are sections in most chapters which focus on historical biographies and urban history. This is an attempt to step back from the encyclopedic barrage of data being fired at the students by the narrative in favor of offering a more individualized and focused view of the past. The urban sections (anywhere from a column to a page or two in length) illustrate a slice of life and atmospheric glimpses of cities in their historical context. This is useful for directing students to local and regional historical concerns and can be used as an exercise for students. Examining the nature of life in selected cities across the globe would make for a good world history project.

In terms of coverage, the urban histories and biographies in most of the chapters offer a fair selection of cities and historic personages from most points of the compass, but the representation of Africa is severely limited to only two cities: "Kilwa: The Island city" and "Great Zimbabwe," and only two African biographical sketches: Mansa Musa and Jomo Kenyatta. Forty-two cities are highlighted in the complete text, eighteen are western European and twenty-four from non-western regions; of forty biographical portraits, only two are African--eleven other non-western figures and the remaining twenty-seven protraits are Western Europeans.

In terms of the feel of the book, it is a comfortable read with clear chapter and paragraph headings; the pages are divided into two columns which makes for easier reading and the use of images and maps is reflective of the need to draw students into the multifaceted nature of historical evidence and perceptions. The study of history in *Civilizations* is not restricted to textual sources--this book provides an array of opportunities for students to study the past with visual and graphic evidence; it also includes specialty sections within each of the chapters and photographic and artistic sections in nicely laminated color pages. As in all texts, the student will have to deal with a narrative that plays host to minute details, which the authors attempt to limit, but when taking the encyclopedic approach one really doesn't have much choice but to produce an encyclopedia; nicely written as it is, the sheer volume of information is still a problem. It would have been a more effective world history to provide more depth on selected civilizations and not attempt a condensed history of Western Civilization in conjunction with this admirable foray into world history.

For example, the following chapters in *Civilizations of the World* are essential for a Western Civilization text: Chapter 13: "The Rise of Europe" Chapter 14: "Life and Culture in Medieval Europe" Chapter 16: "New Horizons: The European Renaissance" Chapter 17: "The Reformation" (in Europe) Chapter 19: "State-Building and Revolution" (in Europe) Chapter 24: "The Age of Absolutism" (in Europe) Chapter 25: "Europe's Century of Genius" Chapter 27: "The Enlightenment" (in Europe) Chapter 28: "The French Revolution and Napoleon" However, in a world civilizations text--with all the demands for breadth of coverage and the twenty or thirty weeks to examine the text--as well as inclusion of the usual complement of ancillary readings--the space and time for these chapters would have been more effectively spent dealing with world history topics and not the history of Western Europe. Sliding into European history to such an extent is problematic of most texts struggling with world history, and *Civilizations of the World* is also faced with this challenge.

Instead of the Eurocentric influence in *Civilizations of the World*, I would suggest the following topics for consideration in place of the above chapters: The Rise of Societies: The Cases of Europe, the Ottoman Empire and East Africa Life and Culture in Medieval Societies: Japan, Europe, and West Africa New Horizons and the Idea of Renaissance: Arab and European Interchanges Religious Conflict and Accommodation: European and Ottoman Experiences The Concept of Enlightenment in Cross-Cultural Perspective: Buddhist, European, and Chinese Ideas Scientific Ideas and Applications in World History: Mayan, Chinese, and European Experiences Additionally, and this may be viewed as heresy, but the chapters on Absolutism and State-Building should be broken down and the ideas of absolute power and developing state structures woven into relevant chapters on various world civilizations. In addition to eliminating those two chapters, the one on "Napoleon and the French Revolution" belongs in a Western Civilization course and should be omitted.

While this drawback must be noted, *Civilizations* does offer insightful accounts of social, cultural and political history of the world's regions from the emergence of civilization to the contemporary era. The authors coverage is extensive as evidenced by individual chapters: "Ancient India," "The Formation of China," "Byzantium and Islam," "The Civilizations of Early Africa," "Medieval India and Southeast Asia," " The Americas to 1500," "Early Modern India and Iran," "Manchu China and Tokugawa Japan," Decolonization and Development in Africa and Latin America," "Age of Global Encounters," and "Upheaval in Eurasia and the Middleast." These are good examples of the twenty-six chapters (out of forty-eight) which focus on the history of non- western societies.

In Chapter Nine, "The Civilizations of Early Africa," and in chapter 21, "The Transformation of Africa: 1400-1800" a good overview is presented of the complexity, age, diversity and connections between African civilizations and the world. The authors indicate that "We now know how rich and varied these early African cultures and civilizations were and how much contact they had with Europe, western Asia, and India, especially through extensive trading networks that transmitted not only goods but culture as well." (P.227) The chapters on African history--even though there are only three chapters focusing on Africa--are welcomed contributions to this text.

*Civilizations of the World: The Human Adventure* invites the reader to participate in a whirlwind tour of the world, with excellent maps, primary source documents, visual experiences, urban focus sections, and periodic reflections on historical issues via global essays. Having already noted criticisms, *Civilizations of the World* is recommended for use as a foundation book in a world history course in conjunction with other course materials and topics- -world history teachers would benefit from the breadth and coverage of this introductory textbook, but they would have to tweak it a bit in order to present a history that illustrates the connections within and between civilizations around the planet.