Disease and Medicine in World History is a concise introduction to diverse ideas about diseases and their treatment throughout the world. Drawing on case studies from ancient Egypt to present-day America, Asia and Europe, this survey discusses concepts of sickness and forms of treatment in many cultures.

Sheldon Watts shows that many medical practices in the past were shaped as much by philosophers and metaphysicians as by university-trained doctors and other practitioners.

Subjects covered include:

• Pharaonic Egypt and the pre-conquest New World
...

Throughout history, dominance of the Indian Ocean has been a critical factor in defining a nation's supremacy and power. It is well known that it played a major part in the success of the Portugese nation at the start of the sixteenth century. In this concise survey, Milo Kearney shows how the trading and imperial expansion offered by the Indian Ocean were exploited by many leading powers from the third millennium BC to the very recent past.
The nations included range from the ancient Egyptians of the new Kingdom to the Han Chinese and, later, from the Moghul to the British Empire. Milo...

Throughout history, dominance of the Indian Ocean has been a critical factor in defining a nation's supremacy and power. It is well known that it played a major part in the success of the Portugese nation at the start of the sixteenth century. In this concise survey, Milo Kearney shows how the trading and imperial expansion offered by the Indian Ocean were exploited by many leading powers from the third millennium BC to the very recent past.
The nations included range from the ancient Egyptians of the new Kingdom to the Han Chinese and, later, from the Moghul to the British Empire. Milo...

In Religion and World History, distinguished authors John C. Super and Briane K. Turley examine the value of religion for interpreting the human experience in the past and present. They explore the elements of religion which best connect it to the cultural and political dynamics that have influenced history.

Working within this framework, Super and Turley present three unifying themes:

* the relationship between formal and informal religious beliefs, how these change through time, and how they are reflected in different cultures

* the relationship between...

Individuals and groups have long found identity and meaning through religion and its collective expression. In" Religion in World History," John C. Super and Briane K. Turley examine the value of religion for interpreting the human experience in the past and present. Through this they explore those elements of religion that best connect it with cultural and political dynamics that have influenced history.
Working within this general framework, Super and Turley bring out three unifying themes:
- The relationship between formal and informal religious beliefs, how these change through...

Western civilization and world history are often seen as different, or even mutually exclusive, routes into historical studies. This volume shows that they can be successfully linked, providing a tool to see each subject in the context of the other, identifying influences and connections.

Western civilization and world history are often seen as different, or even mutually exclusive, routes into historical studies. This volume shows that they can be successfully linked, providing a tool to see each subject in the context of the other, identifying influences and connections.

Western Civilization in World History takes up the recent debates about the merits of the well-established 'Western civ' approach versus the newer field of world history. Peter N. Stearns outlines key aspects of Western civilization - often assumed rather than analyzed - and reviews them...

This lively and clear survey provides a wide-ranging overview of the history of modern sports, covering such topics as:

• why human beings are athletes
• how the major modern sports came about and how they spread throughout the world with the help of enthusiastic individuals, sports organizations, the YMCA and the Olympic movement
• discussions of some of the most popular of the 300 modern world sports including: soccer, basketball, baseball, cricket, table tennis, tennis, Formula One racing, golf, swimming, skiing, volleyball, track and field, boxing, judo and...

This lively and clear survey provides a wide-ranging overview of the history of modern sports, covering such topics as:

• why human beings are athletes
• how the major modern sports came about and how they spread throughout the world with the help of enthusiastic individuals, sports organizations, the YMCA and the Olympic movement
• discussions of some of the most popular of the 300 modern world sports including: soccer, basketball, baseball, cricket, table tennis, tennis, Formula One racing, golf, swimming, skiing, volleyball, track and field, boxing, judo and...

This book features some of the greatest travellers in human history - people who undertook long journeys to places they knew little or nothing about. From Roman tourists, to the establishment of the Silk Road; an epic trek round China and India in the seventh century, to Marco Polo and through to the first speculations on space travel, Premodern Travel in World History provides an overview of long-distance travel in Afro-Eurasia from around 400BCE to 1500.

This survey uses succinct accounts of the most epic journeys in the premodern world as lenses through which to examine...