Publisher's Synopsis
This three-volume anthology contains excerpts and full-length articles from primary source materials in European history. Documents have been selected on the basis of their inherent historical value, their ability to illuminate a particular period, and their readability. Volume I covers from the formation of Greece and Rome, through medieval society and culture. Volume II covers the period from the fourteenth century and the Renaissance through the watershed of the French Revolution and the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte. This third volume covers the evolution of romantic, liberal, and nationalistic thought that characterized the 19th century and continues through Victorianism, European imperialism, the Russian Revolution, and two World Wars. History teaches that present conditions owe their germination to experiences of the past. Volume III uses this guideline to create a superb collection of primary source documents that open a window on the minds of past thinkers in Western civilization. The reader will not only find foundational authors such as Wordsworth and Goethe, but also commonplace documents, such as " Factory Rules in Berlin in 1844" that comment upon the social conditions of daily life. Each reading is preceded by a biographic sketch that effortlessly places the reader in the proper historical context and provides valuable facts about the author of the work. Questions are included at the end of each reading to stimulate analysis of the text and guide the reader through courses of critique that are essential to full understanding of the reading.
