With its brief, global (rather than West-centered) approach, World History in Brief, Fifth Edition, seeks to show how different civilizations developed in a global context, and then encountered the various forces of contemporary life. Rather than overwhelm students, the chief goal of World History in Brief is to present the big picture, to facilitate comparison and assessment of change, and to highlight the major developments in the world's history. This text also presents the global interactions of major civilizations so that students can compare and assess changes. the compact size of this text gives instructors the opportunity to take advantage of additional supplementary readings.