Wow! eBook
The Essential Guide to Western Civilization 2nd Edition
Author(s): Nicholas L. Waddy (Author)
- Publisher: Routledge
- Publication Date: July 8, 2025
- Edition: 2nd
- Language: English
- Print length: 462 pages
- ISBN-10: 1032939273
- ISBN-13: 9781032939278
Book Description
This new edition of The Essential Guide to Western Civilization provides a succinct and engaging overview of European history for students.
With wide chronological coverage, from early humans and the first civilizations to the present, this book provides a narrative of key events in the West with insightful analysis to further contextualize the relationship of the West to the wider world. The second edition has been fully updated, with increased coverage of women, slavery, colonization, economics and finance, and concurrent developments in the non-Western world. It engages with recent scholarship and includes updated suggested readings to offer a more comprehensive view of Western Civilization. To further aid student understanding, this book includes review questions at the end of each section, key terms and definitions for each chapter, discussion questions at the end of every chapter, and maps and images to illustrate important concepts.
Ideal for undergraduates in Western Civilization and European history courses, this volume is a concise, accessible resource that encourages students to think critically and creatively about history.
Editorial Reviews
Review
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
About the Author
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.
