The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative

Average customer rating:

pleasantly surprised

Interesting points, but clearly anti-Western

Wonderfully explained!

Bridging the Gap

The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative
Robert B. Marks
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0742517543

Book Description

This clearly written and engaging book presents a global narrative of the origins of the modern world. Unlike most studies, which assume that the rise of the West is the story of the coming of the modern world, this history, drawing upon new scholarship

Customer Reviews:

pleasantly surprised.......2005-02-25

After reading the last review, I was not looking forward to reading this book. As a history major, I've read a lot of really awful and uninsightful stuff, and I figured I was in for 150 pages of an average, West-hating, unbalanced, and bitter view of history.

Fortunately, I found that this wasn't at all the case. Marks managed to cover some of the most difficult and emotionally charged material (colonialism, racism, etc.) without injecting hatred or even judgement into his writing. [The Hitler comment mentioned by the other reviewer was taken radically out of context.]

Marks' view is really just that all people (not just Europeans, not just Asians) are capable of innovation and power given the right contingent circumstances. He even introduces many creative new ways of looking at old facts.

Furthermore, he seems much more aware of the difficulties of historical analyses than others. On several occasions, he discusses the problems that categorization presents for the historian. Unlike countless other academics, he does not pretend that our categories are things in themselves - he acknowledges that a term like, say, "European" is shorthand, rather than some unchanging essence. In short, he does not try to hide the fact that history is created by people, and thus should be subjected to careful scrutiny.

Given the enormity of the task he's presented with (summarizing world history in a half inch thick book), he does a fantastic job. The only "complaint" I can muster is that there could have been more coverage of Japan and Austrailia, but this was a judgement call that he made with good reason. This book provides a good framework in which to build a more detailed picture. I wholeheartedly recommend it for college courses or even as a supplement to an AP World History class.

Interesting points, but clearly anti-Western.......2004-11-28

All throughout the reading, I kept having this overwhelming feeling that Marks really loves Asia and would love nothing more than to demoralize Westerners with the reminder that they haven't always been number one. Thanks, buddy, we've got that. But it wasn't until the end that it all came together with glaring clarity: he generalizes Westerners as racists that think they're better than everyone else. According to even high school rules of debate, he's definitely lost the argument by finishing off his sweeping statement of the West with an association to Hitler on page 151. I couldn't help but laugh at this guy's overt hatred of the West. This whole "history" book was just a diatribe. Listen, I'm not proud of everything that was done to bring the most powerful nations to where they are today, but that doesn't mean that, given the proper historical contigency, the Asian nations wouldn't have done the very same. And just because I may prosper as a result of the atrocities committed in the past, should I tuck my head and mourn? I hope his work never comes up again on a class reading list, for then I shall be forced to drop the class.

Wonderfully explained!.......2003-05-21

I took two classes with Dr. Marks. All I have to say is that I think he is absolutely brilliant. I really learned a lot from this book and his classes. He enjoys his profession and clearly knows what he is talking about. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history.

Bridging the Gap.......2002-08-05

It often takes 5-10 years or longer for new scholarship to filter down into undergraduate survey textbooks, and this is especially true of the rapidly developing field of world history. Robert Marks' short book is an attempt to bridge this gap. It is a terse synthesis of recent historical revisionism surrounding 'the rise of the west'.

Those familiar with the recent scholarship in world history will note that Marks has shamelessly stolen concepts and arguments outlined by historians such as Fernand Braudel, William McNeill, Andre Gunder Frank, Ken Pomeranz, Charles Tilly, Bin Wong, Jim Blaut, Philip Curtin, Janet Abu-Lughod, Immanuel Wallerstein, Dennis Flynn and Arturo Giraldez - and a host of other historians whose works form the foundation of 'the new world history'. This is no doubt the strength of this short 160 page book since there is virtually no other book that summarizes and integrates this scholarship so succinctly at the moment. Indeed, Marks' book works better as an historiographical survey than as a historical narrative, as the subtitle would suggest.

While the book is ostensibly written for both students and the educated public, it seems clear that it will be most useful as a text for college courses and perhaps even graduate seminars in world history. It should also find its way onto the bookshelves of teachers of world history survey courses and high school AP World History.

A final caveat - be prepared for sticker shock. It is obscenely expensive; even counting the index and preface... an exorbitant price for a paperback book of this length.

Average customer rating:

An Innovative Pedagogical Device!

The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative from the Fifteenth to the Twenty-first Century (World Social Change)
Robert B. Marks
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0742554198

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

An Innovative Pedagogical Device!.......2007-02-19

Each semester, history instructors must select the required reading materials for the next semester's classes. A conscientious teacher might drown in the many options. There are always new titles to fill the captive demand for required purchases. Increasingly, these options come with new bells, whistles, digitized archival collections, and promises of the latest breaking scholarship. That text over there provides a web based bibliography, this one a helpful and hyperlinked timeline. Over here we have a "pedagogical media system" interfacing with the lecture through PowerPoint slides, and boasting a Pod Cast library for additional streaming course content.

Tending to be an easy "mark" for these techno enhancements, I strive to find new ways to cram more content into any history unit. Yet I have been begging any press that would listen for one simple innovation--a textbook. Unlike most available textbooks though, this one would be interesting. It would lead students toward better study habits, shepherd them into more recent ways of thinking about history, and it would show--by example--how to cite their sources in a scholarly manner. I usually suggest that the press find an author who actually teaches undergraduate students.

Robert B. Marks' _Origins of the Modern World_ answers my pleas. So before I get into the text of the textbook, please indulge this instructor's very quick applause for several important features. First, the book is printed in a clear type intended to be read without a magnifying glass. Second, it uses the same citation style most historians require students to use in term papers. So the smart young student in the Che tee shirt will not be pointing out that the textbook fits the syllabus description of plagiarism. Third, the helpful, web based "Study Guide" is not password protected. Even the students who bought used textbooks (and who does not when they are available?) will have fair access. And the reasonable list price of $21.95 means more students will actually purchase the book. Thank you Rowman & Littlefield!

But these are just the beginning of the reasons to assign this book.

Recent scholars have become less comfortable with narrations of world history written as European (and European-American) interactions with everyone else. (The term "everyone else" here is intended to include most of the people alive at any given time.) Recognizing this, most textbook authors have made symbolic nods toward some of the recent findings of our most innovative global and ecological historians. Too often, however, the typical undergraduate textbook is still arranged around the traditional verses in the "Rise of the West" epic: Egypt, Greece, Rome, Holy Rome, Imperial Nation State, Colonization, and "Western Industrialized Democracy." While this format allows a teacher to end the course on a high note, a patriotic gush just before the evaluation forms are handed around, global history is not the same as the history of American foreign relations. The author of this book reconizes this. Further, recent characterizations of history as interesting but irrelevant stories from the long-gone past do not explain to a nineteen-year-old why the subject is important enough to think about today. The vilification of "presentism" is a serious malpractice of history, which has perhaps more to offer than any field in explaining why things turned out as they have.

But Marks' Origins of the Modern World offers an updated synthesis of recent Global, Ecological, Economic, and Demographic history. A professor teaching undergraduate students, Marks narrates without jargon and he avoids obfuscating tangents into overly theoretical interpretations. The preface opens with the events of September 11, 2001, and his introduction presents a balanced view of the "G7" domination of global trade and international finance. So the question, "why should I--a college student in the twenty-first century--care to read any of this," hovers just above the text in each chapter. After a coherent introduction of about twenty pages, each of the following six chapters gets slightly longer and a bit more focused on finer strata of historical experience. So the book has been designed both to improve a conscientious student's study skills, and to blend nicely into a chronologically presented lecture.

The Origins of the Modern World aims at the undergraduate student in a world history survey course. But any teacher who has struggled with the question, "when did American Civilization begin?" will see other applications. Inexpensive enough to consider as a supplemental reading requirement in a traditional Atlantic History class or even for an American History survey, this well designed textbook will orient students toward broader awareness, both historically and within their own world. And this is exactly what history should do.

The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative.(Book Review) : An article from: Pacific Affairs

Average customer rating:

The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative.(Book Review) : An article from: Pacific Affairs
James L. Huffman
Manufacturer: University of British Columbia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0009GSB6K
Release Date: 2005-08-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Pacific Affairs, published by University of British Columbia on June 22, 2004. The length of the article is 696 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative.(Book Review)
Author: James L. Huffman
Publication: Pacific Affairs (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2004
Publisher: University of British Columbia
Volume: 77 Issue: 2 Page: 306(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Examines the Navy's requirements and inventory jof its officer corps by analyzing policy, mangement, trends, and cycles.

Book Description

The Physics of Star Formation and Early Stellar Evolution is a collection of tutorial reviews which critically and systematically discuss the current state of knowledge concerning the entire scope of our understanding of the physics of star formation and early stellar evolution: from the origin of giant molecular clouds to the arrival of young stars on the zero age main sequence. The chapters are written at the graduate student level by an international group of twenty-one distinguished researchers, the emphasis being placed on fundamentals rather than recent results.
This book provides a rigorous treatment of the basic empirical and theoretical foundations of modern star formation research. The authors have put together a unique reference book based on their own pioneering research in those fields.
This book is intended for use as a primary or adjunct text for a graduate course on star formation and early stellar evolution or as a basic reference for the professional scientist interested in obtaining a background in this area of inquiry.

Book Description

One of the most devastating environmental disasters of all time, the 1984 Union Carbide plant explosion at Bhopal, India, forever changed the way corporations view environmental performance. Now, in this groundbreaking book, one of the business world's most highly regarded environmental consultants tells the complete inside story of how, in the wake of Bhopal, four multinational corporations have successfully transformed environmental performance from a major liability to a major asset. In the process, he extracts a set of general principles which can be integrated successfully with any corporation's strategic planning and redesign process.

Writing in an accessible journalistic style, Bruce Piasecki describes how the world business community was rocked by the Bhopal debacle, and explains why, while some companies were plowed under by the avalanche of change that ensued, others, including Union Carbide, ARCO, AT&T, and Warner-Lambert, went on to strengthen their competitive positions. In his vivid account of the steps taken by those companies to improve environmental performance, Piasecki clearly identifies four distinct approaches to the same problem. He shows precisely how and why each company's efforts were rewarded, not only with environmental breakthroughs but with improved financial performance as well. In a series of dramatic case histories, Piasecki reveals, for the first time, the full details of the initiatives taken at each company, including:

Union Carbide and the development of strict auditing standards
ARCO and the development of environment-friendly gasoline
AT&T and the role of strategic alliances in the initiative to eliminate CFCs from electronics production
Warner-Lambert and the drive to develop truly biodegradable plastics

At a time when the fate of many companies hinges on the environmental strategies they adopt, this book offers managers an unparalleled opportunity to learn from the success stories of four companies that have transformed themselves into environmentally progressive firms. More importantly, it shows them how to apply the lessons they learn to their own organizations.

"Bruce Piasecki is a keen observer of the arena where corporate politics and environmental goals intersect. His new book Corporate Environmental Strategy contains invaluable insights into the coming change for the positive in ecological affairs." — Gregg Easterbrook Newsweek

"This is a book for policy and opinion leaders, managers, and businesspeople. While others talk about 'green marketing,' Piasecki tackles the harder task of showing how environmental improvement can be used as a strategic asset by industry to gain competitive advantage." — from the Foreword by Bill Perkins and Ellen Lepper Founding Partners The Potomac Communications Group

"Corporate Environmental Strategy will contribute to society's understanding that the environmental protection initiative in the United States has moved from polarization to partnership." — Thomas S. Davis E&S Engineering Affairs AT&T

"Bruce Piasecki is that rare academician who has a practical understanding of the challenges faced by environmental managers." — Charles L. Grizzle The Grizzle Company and former EPA Assistant Administrator

Here is the inside story of how four major multinational corporations proved that responsible environmental policy is not only right—it's profitable. Union Carbide, ARCO, AT&T, and Warner-Lambert successfully transformed environmental performance from a major liability to a major asset. The methods they developed can be applied in virtually any industrial setting to increase competitiveness and add luster to the corporate image.

Book Description

Hikes varying from half-hour strolls to full-day adventures, this guidebook is for everyone, including families.

Customer Reviews:

not a bad little book.......2007-06-27

This wasn't a bad little book, it was just eclipsed by the other book I bought, "Day Hike! Olympic Peninsula: The Best Trails You can Hike in a Day".
Both books were purchased 5/2007

Nice little book.......2005-11-23

I used this guide to plan a recent trip to Olympic. It does contain a lot of good info but I wish it had just a little bit more. Perhaps some better detail on the maps would be nice. I would recommend using this little guide along with a good topographic map like the National Geographic topo map. Definitely a good book to have along with you.

A good guide for.......2002-10-18

those starting to hike or who want ideas of where to go. Having done all but 3 of the hikes in this book,I would recomend it. Erik gives clear directions and his rating system of easy to hard is very accurate. The book is pocket size and weighs little, with good refernces on time, maps and seasons. His North Cascade Dayhike book is also helpful to daytrippers.

Great help for spur-of-the-moment walkers.......2000-07-08

We had little or no time to plan our short trip to the Olympic Peninsula, but we knew that the area is best enjoyed by walking into the forests, the mountains, or the beaches. This book includes descriptions of 29 hikes that do not require overnight stays, organized geographically. While there is no single map pointing out the locations of all the hikes, each geographical section has one, so it is not too difficult to find something nearby. There is also an ordered list of the hikes, from easiest (the .2 mile Madison Creek Falls hike, with minimal elevation gain) to most difficult (the Mount Zion hike, 3.5 miles with a 1340 foot gain).

Book Description

BEST EASY DAY HIKES OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK, 2nd edition
Erik Molvar
An updated guide to the best short—under 5- mile—hikes in Washington’s Olympic National Park—perfect for families or people who don’t have a lot of time but still want to enjoy this spectacular park. Nearly thirty routes are described in detail with highlights of the hike, approximate hiking time, easy-to-follow directions to the trailhead , and a ranking of the hikes from easy to challenging.

Book Description

This practical and informative book will help readers improve their handwriting and develop their own mature and individual style. Teach Yourself Better Handwriting includes self-diagnosis tests to identify problems, "before-and-after" examples illustrating common faults, and a detailed section on holding the pen. It also offers advice to those with special circumstances that may affect their handwriting, such as being left-handed or having a medical condition.

Customer Reviews:

Good Book.......2007-07-19

This book explains how to correct handwritng difficulties. There are many examples which makes understanding much easier. It's not entertaining and needs some commitment but I'm seeing improvement.

A good grounding.......2006-05-21

Hi All
I bought this book about 3 weeks ago and have seen a marked improvement in my handwriting. Its a little ponderous in its approach but it ticks all the boxes if you want to identify what makes your handwriting illegible and how to improve with practice. The exercises are pretty boring and repettitive but do them and you will find results in a few weeks can be achieved. The writing style put forward is rather like cursive italic (Getty and Dubay).

In my teens I trained as a draftsman and each morning I was obliged to spend 30 minutes (for a few months) retraining my cursive hand into printed lettering for architectural drawings. As a result I lost the ability to write cursive and my hand writing 20 years later was very scruffy and printed. My daughter started learning cursive at school so I wanted to re-learn and this has been a journey of discovery!

I like my emerging new handwriting and recommend this book to you!

I like it........2006-02-28

I really felt that this book improved my handwriting. I am more confident in my handwriting, and I am also more willing to write things down in cursive. I really apperciate this book and recommend it to others.

Help for the handwriting impaired.......2005-04-01

I'm 51 years old and have struggled with very poor handwriting since grade school. I've always been frustrated by pain in the back of my hand when writing. The hints in this book, including a new way to hold the pen - and some different ways to think about composing cursive, have totally changed my handwriting. I'm no longer ashamed to write cursive notes.

Better Handwriting (Teach Yourself Series)

Average customer rating:

Hard to read on how to write
Common sense advice leads to quick improvement.
Really had an impact
Better Handwriting
needs more basic letter formation examples.

Better Handwriting (Teach Yourself Series)
Rosemary Sassoon , and G. Se Briem
Manufacturer: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0844237809

Customer Reviews:

Hard to read on how to write.......2002-11-15

I found the book very technical and hard to penetrate, I just wanted to get down to the bottom line of how to improve handwriting, with practical guidelines, and this book wasn't very helpful.

Common sense advice leads to quick improvement........2000-06-16

I have always reveled in my eccentric handwriting. As my academic career progressed, I was writing less and less for other people, mostly just class notes for myself, and I made little attempt to write legibly. I was the only one who could read my increasingly "individual" penmanship unless I made a great effort to write clearly. Finally, though, I had trouble puzzling out my own handwriting at times, and I realized something had to be done. I had come to admire those with clear handwriting, and I wanted to develop a quick, readable hand.

This book agrees with advice I've found in several sources: the italic alphabet is attractive and easy to write, the distinction between printing and handwriting is artificial, and the torturous cursive script we're taught in elementary school does most students more harm than good. Though the book does not require strict adherence to their italic model, I like it quite a bit, and I'm happy to integrate it into my own hand.

Within minutes of beginning the simplest exercises I realized I'd been holding the pen wrong for as long as I can remember! Changing my grip required some awkward retraining, but once I adapted I realized that, for me, the traditional grip lends itself to more natural and comfortable motions, and my fountain pens work better, too! If it doesn't work for you, though, another grip is discussed.

This is an excellent example of how the book works. It is not about changing your writing to the one correct way. It shows you how to experiment to find the best way for you personally to write. This doesn't mean your handwriting will improve without any effort on your part, but I've found the exercises relaxing, almost meditative. It's difficult to face each new challenge, fumbling to find a way to form the letters properly, but once I've found the way and practice it for a few half-hour sessions, the new method appears in my casual handwriting. I'm very pleased by the increase in the legibility and attractiveness of my handwriting. I don't have to concentrate anymore to write better; with practice my penmanship has improved naturally.

My only problem with the book is that it's a little too vague. I like being able to choose the exercises most relevant to my own writing problems, but some more advice on how to practice would be nice, like "Do one page of Exercise A, then 15 lines of Exercise L, then go on to Exercise M for ten minutes." I realize that different writers will have different needs, but I'm not sure sometimes if I'm doing too little of one thing and not enough of another--though I'm getting a better feel for that as I go along.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels their handwriting needs improvement. Better handwriting will make life easier in a lot of ways!

Really had an impact.......2000-04-29

I recently started collecting fountain pens. To do my collection justice I needed to improve my handwriting. This book did more than teach me how to write better, it taught me to discover and create a personal character in my writing. The practice sessions returned a sense of control immediately. For the first time in my life I actually got complements on my penmanship. I continue to tweek things here and there and my fountain pens are most appreciative.

Better Handwriting.......1999-11-22

I ordered this book to improve my penmanship. The results were no less than wonderful. In less than 3 days my writing had improve tremendously. What I like most about this book, along with the price of course, is the options that it gives you in writing techniques. I also liked that the author gives an understanding of why one may have difficulty in with their writing in the first place. I generally felt that good penmanship reflected a person who was deliberate and careful. This book shows that there is more than attitude involved here, there are basic mechanics to good penmanship that we were not shown in grade school. Great book to refer to anyone who is penmanly- challenged.

needs more basic letter formation examples........1999-10-20

i was looking for a book with letter formations and completion of words with illustrations but this book has none to help a person in that area.

Average customer rating:

Teach Yourself Better Handwriting
Rosemary Sassoon
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFZ5A6

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