Traditions and Encounters A Global Perspective on the Past

by Jerry H. Bentley, Herbert F. Ziegler, Heather E. Streets-Salter

Based on Bentley and Ziegler's best-selling, comprehensive survey text, this book provides a streamlined account of the cultures and interactions that have shaped world history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Textbooks, School, World History, Read For School

1216 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Jerry H. Bentley was professor of history at the University of Hawaii and editor of the Journal of World History.

Reviews

[Zoe H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good textbook for AP world. It has all of the important information in an easy to understand format with a few interesting facts, but not enough to be distracting or annoying. It's a lot shorter than a lot of AP textbooks my class used but it has a lot more useful information. Honestly, the only reason I rated it so low was because the class stole my soul and I'm dead inside now and find no joy in anything. The textbook also has a timeline at the end of each chapter which is good for review. Even if you don't have the time to do the reading (or you're a lazy bum), there's a really comprehensive outline and multiple-choice quiz on the official website. All you have to do is google "Bentley AP world" and it's the first link. This textbook probably saved my grade and my life. Also it's really heavy so you're gonna get those muscles. Get ripped. Toned. Also there are lots of visual aids and primary sources scattered around each chapter which can help comprehension and get you familiar with documents that may come up again in DBQs. My teacher is an AP grader so he'll be one of the people grading the final tests. He loves this textbook and thinks it really prepares students for the AP test. He actually had dinner with Bentley once and said he was a wonderful man. Anyway, good textbook.

[Chad]

THIS BOOK REALLY SUCKS!!!!!!!!

[Ainsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

ew school

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

fuck this shit

[Estela]

bad

[Hildegart · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is perhaps the WORST required textbook I have ever owned. It is an abridged version where they have deleted whole paragraphs. These missing paragraphs were oftentimes needed to understand the topic. It was so bad that I went out and bought a different textbook for my world history class. The unabridged version was fine and very readable and cleared up many questions that the abridged version caused.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good text book. It explains everything in an easy to understand way and includes a lot of information I never knew before and I'm glad I do. However, sometimes they use words or refer to things that they never define, which can hurt your understanding.

[Laura]

Another uni book that I've read a couple of chapters to. (So much easier to understand than a lot of other stuff I've read so far this year).

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Traditions and Encounters by Jerry H Bentley, established and excellent perspective upon past events throughout history. The author did a great job engaging the reader actively throughout the book, Bentley was able to describe a variety of historical events with numerous details. This makes the book at times, difficult to comprehend, however for a more experienced reader it is comprehendible. Bentley described events such as the industrial revolution, many wars and slave revolts as well as the enlightenment, scientific revolution and the world wars. He was able to describe many societies as well, such as the Chinese dynasties and the mongol nomads. The Mongols show up throughout the book. Mr. Bentley used different perspectives throughout the book from past journals and or documents to be reiterate the points and topics in the book. This book worked well in forms of detail and comprehension, it gave me a lot of valuable information. However at times it became boring and repetitive. This book appealed to me in the fact that I wanted a broader context of world history and it gave me that. Emotionally however it did fail to make connections to modern times but gave valuable information. Overall I liked this book and would recommend it for anyone needing or wanting to learn more about world history. I give it a four out of five stars.

[Ellie White · Rating 2 out of 5]

Obviously not a book to read by choice, but I also just don’t think it was the best World Textbook because it, again, was heavily Eurocentric and went into a lot of detail about the development and different sectors of Catholicism but not Islam, or they weren’t super specific about Middle Eastern cultures, but I have definitely read worse. Also, it didn’t do a very easy job of transitioning to modern/present/contemporary history. It was also just an abundance of information rather than a concept or understanding events and then providing evidence. But, it also didn’t have a lot of fluff either and I felt like a lot of the information I was reading was relevant some way or another.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most detailed and all-encompassing textbooks I have read so far in high school. Goes into great depth, skipping all the fluff and going straight to the hard facts, themes, and comparisons. My AP US history textbook pales in comparison to this.

[Maheja · Rating 2 out of 5]

This entire thing is bullshit. Just kidding. I didn't even read chapter 40 so I feel like I'm cheating when I say that I finished it. Oh well.

[Sydney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Complete and utter hatred is what i feel for this book.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Moreover, both in colonial times and after independence, Latin American elites–urban merchants and large land holders– retained control over local economies. Elites profited handsomely from European trade and investment and thus had little incentive to seek different economic polices or work toward economic diversification" (Bentley 865). I was stuck while reading this passage because it cause me to reflect on how much I had leaned this year. After writing research papers on history throughout the year I had gained enough knowledge to begin to connect historical and modern events on my own. I had done research on Latin American government and was able to relate it to patterns of Colombian elections as seen on the news. It was inspiring and makes me inspired to do further research in my senior year, college, and later in life.

[Christopher Byram · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first discovered this book when it was referenced on Khan Academy, in the article 'READ: Oceania, c. 1200-1450 CE', in Unit 4, in the course 'World History Project - Origins to the Present'. The article states that, "Oceania, and the peoples of the Pacific, were often left out of world history textbooks (at least those written in the US) until about 1999. That was when two historians, both teaching at the University of Hawaii, wrote Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. They were, after all, living in Hawaii, the long-standing Pacific society established by the Polynesian people. They knew that Hawaiians historically were part of a Pacific community that played a significant role in the human past. So, in their textbook, they made sure to acknowledge that history. It became a bestseller, changing the way this region has been studied ever since."

[deedowoop · Rating 5 out of 5]

My AP World Book,

Emotionally broke me, mentally strengthened me lol.

I’ve grown on this TB, it has been me through the beginning, to the middle, and soon end of this school year.
The mandatory chapter outlines week after week exhausted me— until I learned how to manage my time wisely!
AP classes are truly dependent on if you have the time to work. This course has definitely helped lots.

With AP testing slowly but surely coming up, I know I’ll be reading chapters out of this book 10x more than usual. 😅 I wish everyone luck and strength to keep on studying for the AP test!

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

AP World reading completed for the year!!!

[Emma French]

this made me cry multiple times. i've read two chapters

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the first textbook I actually read in completion. It is so detailed, and organized in a way that makes it easy for me to compare and study the progress of different societies while in the same time periods. I gathered that the purpose of this book was to showcase the larger movements felt throughout history and the effects societies had on each other, as well as a normal fact-giving textbook. This is a great basic introduction to world history (to truly understand world history, one must study individual societies more intensely, just an opinion). My copy is well worn and the margins are completely packed in with notes. I feel a legitimate fondness for this textbook, and commonly use it as a reference.

Admittedly, the writing is a bit dry, but I just figure it's that way since there is so much information being condensed in the one book. Still, if someone is interested in History and would like an introductory text, this is it.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this textbook for an Ancient Civilizations class, and I really enjoyed it. The book is well researched, and even with as much as I know about different cultures, and in depth info about subjects like Ancient Greece, and the spread of Christianity, I still learned new things. I liked how the author worded movements and ideas in new language rather than the same expressions heard in each class.

[Hildegart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is way better than the 'concise' abridged version. This one you can read and understand. As with any textbook that covers world history, there are sections that seem to be lacking a little information, but remember, this is a survey book.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I'm only a sophomore, this is the best history textbook that I've read yet. However, I do recommend supplementing it with other textbooks that include more charts, maps, and foundations period content.

[Ezra Huebner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was assigned this book for AP world, but I bought a copy for myself just because it was so good. It has a wonderful and concise historical perspective. It's a must for any student of history. (And it helped me get a 5 on the ap test.)

[Angie Pangan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't terrible. Though last year I absolutely hated taking notes on this text book. But compared to Brinkley's textbook this one has way more pictures and a larger font, which certainly made me happy. I'm still glad to be done with AP World History.

[Brandy]

Only because I have to...

[Rebecca Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Read" for World Civilizations I and II. I say "read" because I skimmed over most of it.

So. Freaking. Boring.

[Jenny]

I'm not rating this book because I read it for AP World History. If you are not taking the AP test or the college course this book is probably not for you. It was very informative, though. ;)

[Micah · Rating 2 out of 5]

when they say brief they meant brief. Survey book that was assigned in class. would rather have not read it at all.

[Jerryxuan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for intro to the subject, but not a good read

[Chantal Aurora]

Hate this book had to read it for AP World they way they describe history is so boring and annoying it makes me want to hate my favorite subject.