Designed for courses in World History and World Civilization, this best-selling, classic exploration of world history takes an interdisciplinary global (rather than a regional or national) approach-tracing those major forces, movements, and events that have had a world-wide impact. It stresses connections between the past, present and future, emphasizing the question "What does it mean for us today?" The Seventh Edition reevaluates the course of human history with an eye toward the millennium, reflecting in its coverage the end of the cold war and the dawning possibilities for a new type of global history.