Although this brief edition is two-thirds the length of its full-length counterpart, it retains coverage of all major themes and provides a truly global perspective on world history, without over-emphasizing Europe or the U.S. The Earth and Its Peoples focuses on the interaction of human beings and the environment, using this central theme to compare different times, places, and societies. Special emphasis is given to technology and how technological development underlies all human activity. Ideal for one-semester survey courses or courses where instructors want to supplement their textbook with many primary sources, this text has been carefully abbreviated to maintain the essential narrative of world history. Specific areas of improved coverage are the early Americas, Russia, the Enlightenment, the Renaissance, and the Industrial Revolution. Structural updates include earlier coverage of the Americas and a chronologically organized section on the period from 1945 to the present. The new part openers include a brief narrative overview with a relief map and timeline that outline major historic events. The colors used in the timeline correlate to specific regions on the relief map so students can see both when and where an event occurred. All events shown on the timeline and map are discussed in-depth within the part. To increase student accessibility, the new brief edition now features a full-color design, which provides more effective maps and a colorful new part opener design.