Worlds of History, Volume II: Since 1400: A Comparative Reader

This reader does what it's supposed to do: it's filled with a TON of primary and secondary sources, covering nearly every topic of world history from 1400 on. However, I did not like it one bit. The documents are just incredibly dry and unenjoyable. Particularly with the older documents, it was torture to suffer through the anachronistic language and pull relevant facts and themes from it. As a student, I didn't have much of a choice which book was assigned to me, and I got stuck with Reilly. I would have much preferred a standard textbook. I am sticking with my 4-star rating though. The documents are technically very educational, and it's probably a good thing to be forced to read the Mayflower Compact and whatnot. Also, I'm sure I'm biased against it - I had no great love for historical documents to begin with. Someone more passionate than I will probably find this book pretty decent.

There are half a dozen or more 'readers,' collections of primary sources and secondary articles, available for world history courses. A few are very good, but most are pretty much just collections of sources with little else to recommend them. I've used five of these books in my classes over the past six years, and Reilly's "Worlds of History" is the one I prefer. Why? It offers an excellent selection of useful primary sources from all eras and regions. Some are classics like the Code of Hammurabi. Others are unusual and interesting like descriptions of the court of Genghis Khan or eyewitness accounts of what Tenochtitlan (future Mexico City)looked like when the Spanish first arrived. Many of these accounts are fascinating. Equally importantly, the translations are good, modern translations unlike some sources in other readers which are older and out of date. The secondary accounts are judiciously chosen articles which add immensely useful points of view to the standard textbook story students will be reading. Each new edition has removed a few readings (Not always poor ones and some I wish had remained), but those added have been excellent. Reilly avoids the endlessly detailed introductory material of a few other readers which I've found detracts from the sources themselves. Often, a brief (half-page) introduction is all a student needs to a document. Reilly does include brief chapter introductions and chapter-ending thoughts which are useful. But, for the most part, the focus is clearly on the documents and articles themselves and not on the editor (Reilly) constantly "interrupting," which is refreshing, I find. This two-volume reader is also attractive because it is smaller and more portable than most. The typeface is highly readable unlike in some other readers. All readings are numbered consecutively so they are easy to assign to students. There are one or two other readers which are good, but Reilly's "Worlds of History" is my clear favorite. And my students like it which says a lot.