HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT The Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged

I ordered this 6th edition of the Encyclopedia of World History to supplement my 1st edition. It is a disappointing product so far. An especially helpful aspect of my 1st edition are the genealogical tables. This version lacks tables included in the 1st edition (e.g., "Succession to the English Crown" omitted), changes temporal cut-off points for tables (e.g., "The House of Stuart" cuts off at the reign of James I [shown as James VI], 1603, eliminating all the subsequent genealogy from Charles I through George III); helpful parenthetical notes in the 1st edition are omitted in this one (e.g., notes identifying James VI of Scotland with James I of England and Fredrick II (Hohenzollern) with Fredrick "the Great" are omitted); and there are apparently just blatant typos (e.g. Wilhelmina, the daughter of Frederick William II [Hohenzollern] is identified as "Frederick Wilhelmina" in the Hohenzollern table. If someone can prove that Frederick William named his daughter "Frederick" I will humbly withdraw my criticism); the appendices omit the list of Holy Roman Emperors, and several others of historical interest; and to top it off, the CD ROM included with the book will not run on 64-bit versions of Windows (i.e., anything including, and since, I3). I called the "customer service" number given to request an updated version of the CD, got a recording that nobody was available to talk to me, left a message, and did not get a callback.This is an inferior product compared to its predecessors. I'll keep the book and perhaps use it as a reference on some historical subjects, but it cannot, and does not, compare with, or replace, my 1st edition.

The one 'quick reference' book I find myself grabbing most of my shelf. It provides a comprehensiveness of the chronology of world events that as far as I'm aware of is unrivaled by any other resource. While it doesn't, and can't go into any great depth on any given event it really helps when trying to step back and put events into perspective or order. It also allows the reader to compare events in time across regions. I found it useful as a history undergrad and my niece was struggling keeping all the dates and names straight in her high school history classes until I got her a copy. Now she has one quick resource that can collapse 40 pages of text book largess and filler into a paragraph or two.

The Langer Encyclopedia of World History was prominent on my father's bookshelf in the 1950s. I have never been without a copy and have updated with each new edition. It is organized in sequences that are easy to follow, and contains every fact imaginable in context that is clear and understandable. Entries are supplied by leading scholars and are carefully vetted. The Langer/Stearns 2001 edition pays more and much-needed attention to minorities and discrimination. This is the equivalent of the unabridged OED for historical reference.

This has been interesting to read.

The book is very informative, but as a general overview of world history. It serves as a quick reference in your home library. The font is a bit small, to fill the huge volume.