Origins of the Modern World - (World Social Change) 4th Edition by Robert B Marks (Hardcover)

About the Book

Now in a new edition, this clearly written and engrossing book presents a global and environmental narrative of the origins of the modern world since 1400. Robert Marks constructs a story in which Asia, Africa, and the New World play major roles and points to the resurgence of...

Book Synopsis

Now in a new edition, this clearly written and engrossing book presents a global and environmental narrative of the origins of the modern world since 1400. Robert Marks constructs a story in which Asia, Africa, and the New World play major roles and points to the resurgence of Asia and the vastly changed relationship of humans to the environment.

Review Quotes

My students truly enjoyed reading The Origins of the Modern World, which I used as a text for my Introduction to Global Studies course. They found the book easy to digest despite the complexities inherent in dealing with such a large span of world history. Thank you for making my task as an instructor that much easier and more enjoyable!

Always the favorite when it comes to incisive world history agenda-setting, The Origins of the Modern World has a fully developed overview, one that is big on humans and the history of the environment and encourages critical thinking on a global scale.

By far the best of the current world history books on the market. Its main strengths lie in its non-Eurocentric viewpoint, its clear narrative, and its brevity. I would (and have) unreservedly recommended the book to colleagues teaching in the field as well as to others seeking a quick introduction to the history of the world.

I love this book--and more important, students do as well. Nothing beats it for putting global perspectives on the table in a readable and intelligent way.

In accessible prose, Robert Marks distills world history of the past six centuries to its essence. Truly global in scope, and fully attentive to environmental contexts, this book is ideal for the classroom: it will provoke both thought and discussion--and occasional disagreement.

Splendid, fresh, forceful, and efficient. Marks has a clear focus on the Eurocentrism of most of the textbooks on world history, and he has developed an effective, solidly grounded strategy to counter the problem. The ideas are challenging, and the prose is readable and engaging. Ideal for introductory surveys of world history.

Terrific! It's far and away the best of its type I've found in over thirty years of teaching. It's clear, succinct, and yet wonderfully comprehensive. It brings together all the current thinking in world history in about as nice a package as can be imagined.

This new edition accentuates the book's strengths while remaining compact, highly readable, and easy to connect with contemporary concerns. Fair-minded but not bland, it has the potential to spark classroom discussion that conventional textbooks rarely have, while providing a helpful basic narrative around which to organize an appealing world history class.

About the Author

Robert B. Marks is professor emeritus of history and environmental studies at Whittier College. His books include China: Its Environment and History. He is the recipient of Whittier College's Harry W. Nerhood Teaching Excellence Award.