Using dynamic full-color maps accompanied by lucid, expertly written text, the Random House Compact Atlas of World History is a vital work of reference and a fascinating companion for all those who seek to understand the past. The brilliant maps and charts illustrate how world history unfolded through economic and political change, wars, exploration, and the spread of religions. From the emergence of humans two million years ago to the world today at the threshold of a new millennium, this fully up-to-date edition covers all the major developments in the human story across every continent:          Part One:  The Ancient World (Human Origins through the Collapse of Ancient Rome and China)          Part Two:  The World Fragmented (the Spread of New Religions and Empires through to the end of the Fifteenth Century)          Part Three:  The Rise of the West (Sixteenth Century to the Eve of the First World War)          Part Four:  The Modern World (The Twentieth Century --History in Our Times) At Random House, they take the word compact seriously. The Random House Compact Atlas of World History occupies only 176 pages, but somehow it manages to pack in all the world's major events--from humans' first lurching attempts to walk upright to the collapse of Communism and the growing ozone hole over the South Pole. The goal, according to editor Geoffrey Parker, is "to convey a sense of the past as a continuing process and thus to provide a fresh perspective on today's world which will meet the requirements and interests of present-day readers in all parts of the globe." The atlas does a good job of presenting the major trends throughout the world, combining fairly detailed maps with concise, expertly written text. It divides world history into four phases (the Ancient World, the Rise of Empires, the Rise of the West, and the Modern World), allowing them to encompass the big events of specific eras and simultaneously showing the ebb and flow of history. The format is a browser's delight, offering each subject in one to two pages, with full-color maps and diagrams supporting the text. c full-color maps accompanied by lucid, expertly written text, the Random House Compact Atlas of World History is a vital work of reference and a fascinating companion for all those who seek to understand the past. The brilliant maps and charts illustrate how world history unfolded through economic and political change, wars, exploration, and the spread of religions. From the emergence of humans two million years ago to the world today at the threshold of a new millennium, this fully up-to-date edition covers all the major developments in the human story across every continent: Part One: The Ancient World (Human Origins through the Collapse of Ancient Rome and China) Part Two: The World Fragmented (the Spread of New Religions and Empires through to the end of the Fifteenth Century)