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History of Western Society Since 1300 for Advanced Placement
A History of Western Society remains the most popular AP European history textbook available because it captures students' interest in the everyday life of the past and ties social history to the broad sweep of politics and culture. The tenth edition has been thoroughly revised to strengthen the text's readability, heighten its attention to daily life, and incorporate the insights of new scholarship, including a strengthened treatment of European exploration and a thoroughly revised post-1945 section. With a dynamic new design, new special features on visual evidence, and a completely revised and robust companion reader, this significant revision will help AP students master the concepts and content of European history.
832 pages, ebook
Published March 1, 2011
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 4, 2011
AH! I finally finished this entire text book. It was quite a struggle, but I feel accomplished.
I don't really have an opinion on this text book...it was long, it was historic, it was dry. Obviously, I wouldn't pick it up for some light reading.
I just had to comment that I read this text book cover to cover- it just had to be said.
I don't really have an opinion on this text book...it was long, it was historic, it was dry. Obviously, I wouldn't pick it up for some light reading.
I just had to comment that I read this text book cover to cover- it just had to be said.
May 7, 2015
McKay book, you have been my companion throughout this grueling year. Although you had your biases (Well is there anyone who isn't biased?) you still taught me a lot. Was I irked when you spent 5 textbook pages on contraceptives and a few measly paragraphs? Why yes, I did. But if I pass tomorrow, a large percentage of that grade is due to you. Farewell.Tomorrow I'll be a free woman!
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May 31, 2025the fact that i actually read THIS ENTIRE BOOK. shoutout naar philine we hebben echt het tweede semester GECARRIED met onze samenvatting. ik vond dit op zich een leuk boek maar het feit dat het amerikaans is is ZO merkbaar. take it with a grain of salt want mckay heeft echt duidelijke meningen. shoutout voor de putin plaatjes tho in hoofdstuk 30!
SPECIAL shoutout to the fucking egg that ruined my book back in october and made me a social pariah for 2 entire semesters
SPECIAL shoutout to the fucking egg that ruined my book back in october and made me a social pariah for 2 entire semesters
May 9, 2019
Honestly a pretty good textbook.
March 3, 2025
not officially done with this quite yet since I'll be preparing for the AP exam but I have completed reading through it.
first of all factual errors. here's a small list of grievances that I have myself, although I'm sure there's more errors than just the ones that I know of
- claiming that leonardo da vinci's close male relationships were only homoromantic, and that there's no evidence suggesting a sexual relationship between him and any man (he was briefly imprisoned for sodomy. so.)
- claims that peter III was overthrown by catherine's military conspirators in a palace revolution (which is a fair thing to say in a more surface level text but an AP level textbook shouldn't have that much of a simplification in their text imo, just seems like an unfair representation of her)
- referring to albert camus as an existentialist (camus was, of course, involved in the french existentialist movement and this makes sense in the context of the text, but calling him an existentialist makes an inaccurate representation of his philosophy)
- claiming that the origin of the name "dada" for the art movement is the french word for hobby horse (there are conflicting theories and accounts on the origin of the name) (and honestly I hate the french hobby horse theory given that the movement started in switzerland, the theory that it originates from the romanian "da, da" meaning "yes yes" makes more sense to me). this one in particular is really the worst one to me because it's actively perpetrating this theory without nuance. the previous points are understandable simplifications to a certain extent but claiming the dada movement's name originates from french is an unnecessary statement that actively misinforms
as for the writing itself, it's incredibly disorganized. chapters often have sections that SEEM to segue into a new topic, only to move on to an entirely unrelated topic and mention that segued topic pages and pages later. often chapters overuse the same words like "thusly" only for those words to never be mentioned outside of those 20 pages where it was mentioned nonstop. the most complex of subjects that require a deep understanding are often squashed into just one or two incredibly long paragraphs while simple or irrelevant concepts (cough cough american history) are over explained.
great class, I highly recommend it especially for history fans, but the textbook itself offered much less than the curriculum did for me
first of all factual errors. here's a small list of grievances that I have myself, although I'm sure there's more errors than just the ones that I know of
- claiming that leonardo da vinci's close male relationships were only homoromantic, and that there's no evidence suggesting a sexual relationship between him and any man (he was briefly imprisoned for sodomy. so.)
- claims that peter III was overthrown by catherine's military conspirators in a palace revolution (which is a fair thing to say in a more surface level text but an AP level textbook shouldn't have that much of a simplification in their text imo, just seems like an unfair representation of her)
- referring to albert camus as an existentialist (camus was, of course, involved in the french existentialist movement and this makes sense in the context of the text, but calling him an existentialist makes an inaccurate representation of his philosophy)
- claiming that the origin of the name "dada" for the art movement is the french word for hobby horse (there are conflicting theories and accounts on the origin of the name) (and honestly I hate the french hobby horse theory given that the movement started in switzerland, the theory that it originates from the romanian "da, da" meaning "yes yes" makes more sense to me). this one in particular is really the worst one to me because it's actively perpetrating this theory without nuance. the previous points are understandable simplifications to a certain extent but claiming the dada movement's name originates from french is an unnecessary statement that actively misinforms
as for the writing itself, it's incredibly disorganized. chapters often have sections that SEEM to segue into a new topic, only to move on to an entirely unrelated topic and mention that segued topic pages and pages later. often chapters overuse the same words like "thusly" only for those words to never be mentioned outside of those 20 pages where it was mentioned nonstop. the most complex of subjects that require a deep understanding are often squashed into just one or two incredibly long paragraphs while simple or irrelevant concepts (cough cough american history) are over explained.
great class, I highly recommend it especially for history fans, but the textbook itself offered much less than the curriculum did for me
May 31, 2010
The ninth edition of A History of Western Society has added two new authors who attempt to bring more women's and family history into the story. A necessary task, just not one particularly well done in this edition. Too often these details seem tacked on and sometimes they diminish what was the book's previous strengths. The section on Italian prostitutes inserted almost randomly into the portion of a chapter on Reformation ideas is a particularly horrible example of this lack of integration. Hopefully subsequent editions will improve this and bring the book back to its old glories.
March 18, 2016
I love Juan with all of my heart. Great textbook for AP European History, many nights spent reading this book. Great help for those taking the class and for those who want EXTENSIVE information on European History starting just before the Renaissance.
July 30, 2017
New and Contemporary History = done! :D Great book for college. Richly illustrated and very well written. You'll save quiet some time reading this book while reading about these subjects!
October 30, 2011
A rollercoaster of European history. I liked it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews