With unparalleled coverage of social history, A History of World Societies explores the lives of peoples of the world within a political framework. The text is known for its readability, integration of strong scholarship, and new historical interpretations. A range of technology resources--including Houghton Mifflin's Eduspace online learning tool, premium Blackboard and WebCT content, and materials designed for student success-- gives A History of World Societies one of the strongest technology programs on the market. Twentieth-century world and African history scholar Roger Beck joins the author team for the Seventh Edition. In addition to completely revising the last four chapters, Dr. Beck contributes his scholarly expertise throughout the text. The entire author team has worked to increase coverage of non-western topics in order to achieve a more balanced, global approach to world history. Several new features, as well as significant structural and content changes, round out this very thorough revision. New! This edition features the addition of co-author Roger Beck. An expert in African and twentieth-century world history, Beck incorporates compelling new scholarship, particularly in chapters 30-34, with significant contributions to African history coverage throughout the text. A well-respected scholar in the world history community, Beck helps to ensure that equal weight is given to the stories of all the peoples of the world. New! Extensive content changes have been made to this edition, including new or expanded material on Islamic cultural development; Japanese Society between 800 and 1400, with an emphasis on the experience of women; "The Dream of Red Mansions," an important work of Chinese literature; the Arab-Israeli conflict; and the challenges of modern African nations. In addition, coverage of 19th and 20th-century Japan includes more material on the opening of Japan under Perry and protests during Meiji Restoration (Chapter 25), Japan's colonial empire and its aggression against China (Chapter 28), and World War II. New! Increased comparative coverage focuses on Chinese paper and Egyptian papyrus, the Qur'an and Jewish and Christian scriptures, Muslim madrasa schools and European universities, Japanese samurai and European knights, and non-violent protest methods used by Gandhi and civil rights protesters in the United States. New! Coverage of some of the most current topics in world history includes Vladimir Putin's leadership and Russia's war with Chechnya; Latin America's economy and the formation of the South American Community; Mbeki's presidency in South Africa and religious strife in Nigeria; terrorism, including the 2004 Madrid train bombings and the nuclear capabilities of various countries; the new Pope and the rise of religious fundamentalism; and global healthcare issues. New! Extensive structural changes allow for a more global presentation of history, while reducing the text's overall length and number of chapters from 36 to 34. Structural changes include new Chapter 1, "Early Civilizations," which combines Chapters 1 and 2 from the previous edition, as well as new Chapter 23, "The Triumph of Nationalism in Europe, 1815-1914," which combines Chapters 24 and 25. New! A comparative timeline in the front of the book features a perforated edge so that students can post or carry it with them to class. This timeline also ties in with an online interactive timeline. New! More than 1/3 of the text's "Individuals in Society" biography features are new, including Amda Siyon, a ruler of the Solomonic dynasty and Tan Yunxian, a Chinese female doctor. Among the new "Listening to the Past" features, which invite students to evaluate primary sources as an his