The Times Concise Atlas of World History

Unlike many reference books that cover similar material, this book is not too large, heavy or cumbersome to actually use. The paper quality is nice. I love that I can get it in paperback so it's affordable for a reference book. The maps are excellent - I often scan them to show to my class as they're better than the maps in their textbooks. The text provides a synopsis of the era and is just the right length and detail level. Oh, and it even has a thorough index - a must in a reference book but is often substandard in other works. I only wish there was a more recent edition!

Although this book is currently out of print I wholeheartedly reccomend that you get it if you can find one. For a brief overview of world history one could not find a more useful document. The narrative is at times quite insightful for such a broad range text, and the graphics are invaluable if you ever need to explain these points to anyone (including yourself).