The Plague

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The Nobel prize-winning Albert Camus, who died in 1960, could not have known how grimly current his existentialist novel of epidemic and death would remain. Set in Algeria, in northern Africa, The Plague is a powerful study of human life and its meaning in the face of a deadly virus that sweeps dispassionately through the city, taking a vast percentage of the population with it.

Book Description

A haunting tale of human resilience in the face of unrelieved horror, Camus' novel about a bubonic plague ravaging the people of a North African coastal town is a classic of twentieth-century literature.

Customer Reviews:

One of The Easier Reads From Camus.......2007-08-26

This is one of the easier reads from Camus and it is a straightforward story. It was published in 1947 after Camus's basic ideas on religion, life, and the absurd had been formed. The novel brings forth Camus's ideas on the absurd, and the revolt against a world of the absurd and of injustice. The plagues is an event that tests man's reaction to the crisis, and the city and the plague are literary vehicles used by Camus to describe human reactions.

Albert Camus (1913 - 1960) was a French writer and philosopher. He is often associated with existentialism, but Camus rejected any ideological classification. Camus was a young recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature when he became the first African-born writer to receive the award in 1957. He died in a car crash only three years after receiving the award. He was a social activist and Communist, and fought with the French resistance in WWII. Later he rejected Communism. The present book is one of his last works.

Camus combined his philosophy with his writing skills to produce literary art. The end result is sometimes complicated. It takes a close and careful examination to see exactly what points he is trying to make. For example, Camus descibed his novel The Stranger as a story about someone who was telling the unvarnished truth, but it was more complicated than simply that.

For The Plague, he has created a relatively simple story about a plague that grips the Algerian city of Oran brought on by a disease carried by rats. It is a narrative by a doctor Rieux who treats the sick and deals with the survivors.

Camus's ideas can be found in the non-fiction work The Myth of Sisyphus (Le Mythe de Sisyphe) (1942): it is about "the absurd sensitivity." That idea is continued here in The Plague. We cannot conclude that Camus "found religion" in the present work nor are there any changes in Camus's philosophy. There are a number of interesting characters in Ther Plague who are used by Camus to make his point. One such character is a priest. A controversey surrounds the priest because he calls for a simple choice: total acceptance or rejection of religion.

Overall, this is a good book from Camus that takes only four or five hours to read and is relatively easy to understand. It is far less complicated than The Fall, and it is straighforward to read and understand similar to The Stranger. It is less philosphical than some of his other books and a few ideas are subtle.

This is one instance, similar to The Fall by Camus, where you should look beyond the reviews here to get a deeper understanding of the work; and, it is probably best to read some of the detailed analysis found elswhere in critical books or on the net.

A great and moving work of literature.......2007-08-20

Camus is not writing about the plague, as graphic as some of the descriptions of disease may be. He is writing about the human spirit and how it deals not just with adversity but with absurdity. The least appropriate response to the plague is the most common -- that of banality. For many residents, life just goes on but becomes infinitely boring. For those who strive with evil and death, life becomes infinitely valuable and infinitely interesting. Think of Rieux, putting in his 20-hour days. Even the miscreant Cottard finds meaning in the plague; for him, it means that all the inhabitants are in the same situation as he is.

Quite a remarkable work. A true classic.

One of the best books I've read.......2007-05-30

I was incredibly taken in by The Plague. The languaga is so ,agnificent that I imagine the original French must be even more so. The way Camus conveys the mindsets of the townfolk serves as a perfect example of the hu,an condition.

Examining a Plague Stoically .......2007-05-27

The Plague is an okay read about survival during a plague. It is low key and non-sensational and even has a passage that says that the author wants to record the events without sensationalism. Unfortunately, this grim, manly stoicism makes the book a little boring.

The book makes you think about how you would react during a time of extreme crisis by reading about how the main character, Rieux, and the citizens react. When normal life comes to a standstill, Rieux and the citizens of Oran are forced to think about what is important in life. They are slow to understand that their lives are changing permanently because of the plague. They find it unbelievable that their daily lives could be interrupted by the pestilence. Fear causes the citizens to seriously reflect on their lives because daily routines and mundane consciousness have been disturbed after the death of Michel from the plague: "And it was then that fear, and with fear serious reflection, began."

They are taken by surprise by the plague and believe that it cannot happen to them: "In this respect our townsfolk were like everybody else, wrapped up in themselves, in other words they were humanists: they disbelieved in pestilences....How should they have given thought to anything like plague, which rules out any future, cancels journeys, silences exchange of views."

The stoppage of normal life is inconceivable to those who have not experienced the plague. It still remains hard for the people to comprehend the plague and its history of horror as the spring comes on: "...cartloads of bodies rumbling through London's ghoul-hearted darkness, nights and days filled always, everywhere, with the eternal cry of human pain. No, all these horrors when not near enough as yet even to ruffle the equanimity of that spring afternoon. The clang of an unseen streetcar came through the window, briskly refuting cruelty and pain."

Rieux himself has trouble comprehending that the plague would become full-blown in a such a town as Oran, which has its share of eccentrics such as Grand: "He realized how absurd it was, but simply could not believe that a pestilence on the great scale could befall a town where people like Grand could be found, obscure functionaries cultivating harmless eccentricies."

I particularly liked Rieux's reaction to Rambert's accusation that he was reacting to the plague and the people affected by it too abstractly. Rieux silently mocks Rambert's idea that he lives in a world of abstractions: "Could that term "abstraction" really apply to the days that he spent in his hospital while the plague was battening on the town, raising its death toll to five hundred victims a week....Still when an abstraction sets to killing you, you've got to get busy with it." Rieux plays on the word "abstraction" when substituting it for "evacuation" of the person who has the plague and has to be forcibly removed from the family who resists. He says that "...of course, he had pity, but what purpose did that serve?" He has to follow the rules of the quarantine during the plague. When children fall ill the mothers wail with "distraught abstraction" every evening as the doctor makes house calls. Rieux feels "bleak indifference" coming on as he handles so many cases like this. Rieux uses that indifference to survive the long hours of dealing with plague victims, remarking that, "To fight abstraction, you must have something of it in your own make up." He finds solace in his lack of emotion. But he does not expect Rambert to understand what he is going through. Rieux actually deals with heart-rending situations, but he must shut himself off from feeling too much pain about them.

How people confront extreme circumstances.......2007-05-05

It isn't trivial that Albert Camus studied philosophy. In this book, the Nobel Laureate uses a "plague" to explore how different people react to the hardships and incomprehensible nature of what is thrust upon them. It takes place in the town of Oran, where one day the rats start dying off, and the people quickly follow. The town is sealed off, and the characters have to deal with the isolation and and the bleakness of their circumstance, among other things. This is an excellent book about humanity, but if you are looking for a horror story or something filled with obvious bestseller suspense, look elsewhere. Camus keeps the reader interested throughout, but the interest is in the character of the people he populates the town with, not necessarily with the disease itself. I'd highly recommend it, but just know what you're getting into.

Average customer rating:

Wonderful Chronicle of the Human Condition.
French stink.
A most evocative book
Not a favourite
AVIATION CLASSIC

Night Flight
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , and Stuart Gilbert
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156656051

Book Description

In this gripping novel, Saint-Exupéry tells about the brave men who piloted night mail planes from Patagonia, Chile, and Paraguay to Argentina in the early days of commercial aviation. Preface by André Gide. Translated by Stuart Gilbert.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Chronicle of the Human Condition........2007-07-11

I have read Exupery's "The Little Prince." I am aware of his tragic 1944 death, just two years after writing this marvelous little book, while flying a solo reconoissance mission in support of the Allies, somewhere over the Mediterranean sea. The world lost a great literary and artistic talent, as well as a hero.

This is important context, because "Night Flight" serves to enhance St. Exupery's reputation, in my opinion, as one of the 20th century's great writers of the human condition. He covers several topics in this short book that are central to understanding the human experience:

- being alone in the dark.
- being alone and lost.
- being "alone" in a villiage, or alone even while surrounded by people, or when trying to talk to your husband or wife.
- the yoke of obligation and duty
- the benefit and sacrifices of the one vs. the many
- disfunctional leadership and command
- living every day with fear and doubts

I cannot judge the impact of the transation out of the French, vs. the peculiarities of St. Exupery's writing style. But whatever it is, it works. The economy of the text reminds me of Hemingway.

He explained it as only a gifted artist could explain it, who had been there many times before. I found myself in the plane with Fabien. I could feel the engine shake, the wind blow by, the dim lights of the instrument panel. I could see the star lights in the sky above, and, as St. Exupery explained it, the star lights in the villiages below. I could feel the onset of awareness and resignation, as the pilot gradually becomes aware that he is hopelessly lost above the vast emptyness of the jungle, mountains and the sea.

French stink........2005-12-14

Unbelievable how years can change opinions. Is it worth anyone's life to have the mail delivered on time? Would a day's delay in the delivery of a letter be worth the death of a beloved young man? Of course not. At least the jerk that demands the death of his pilots seems to have heart disease. The story takes place in the days when flight was precarious. Its probably like that in Alaska today. The creepy French manager makes the pilots fly in planes that he knows are defective and then faults them when they refuse to fly in tornados. Profit was his only motivation because he doesn't want to lose the franchise. The young pilots love to fly and will do whatever he tells them to do so they can continue to fly. And so they die. He has the controlling hand. I guess Frenchmen are real lice. Thats why they never got anywhere. Look what happened with the Concorde.

A most evocative book.......2002-03-15

This is an epic narrative of a single evening in the Argentine night mail service. The chief character is the air manager, with peripheral characters being pilots, pilots' wives, and other personnel. Without spoiling the plot, an unexpected crisis occurs in the way of a trans-Andean storm, and the pace quickens to unforgettable climax.
But read the book. It's short, and not so much as a phrase is excess weight. A spine-tingling thriller about men in crisis, and the women who wait alone. You may grimace at the manager's resolve, but you will never forget him or the pilot coming from far southern Argentina. A masterful insight into the days when character was a desirable thing and profit wasn't the only motive for excellence.

Not a favourite.......2001-03-31

This was not a book that I enjoyed. He is indeed a poet, but I found the Nitzschean hero-worship rather dated and the character became clichés to me. Not recommended.

AVIATION CLASSIC.......2001-03-08

As a near to retiring professional pilot who has logged close to 17,000 flight hours worldwide, including Argentina (where this story is set), all I can say is: Those mail pioneers (for this story was based on fact when Saint Ex went to Argentina about 70 years ago to open up the mail routes) were indeed very brave men. The author portays another place and another time, but for all aviators (from private thru airline) there are always moments when you come face to face with your own fear - be it weather, mechanical failure, fire, or whatever - and hopefully survive. Saint Ex's protaganist and his radio operator are not as fortunate as those of us who walked away, but then we modern pilots do have a lot more going for us in the cockpit than the pioneers did. In France, Saint Ex has always been considered the poet storyteller - the best of the best. In the USA Ernie Gann and Richard Bach, in the UK John Templeton Smith. It seems to me that the finest works with an aviation theme can only come from those who have been there. St Ex, Gann, Bach, Templeton Smith were always first and foremost pilots - that their writing skills happened to be superlative would doubtless have been dismissed by these modest men. Four men in the near hundred year history of aviation with such writing genius is not many. Read them all - imagine if you like that these four flyers are together in a flight (two elements) painting contrails across a blue sky. For me the leader Saint Ex. I leave you to decide who is his wingman.

World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Volume II (5th Edition) (MyHistoryLab Series)

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World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Volume II (5th Edition) (MyHistoryLab Series)
Peter Stearns , Michael Adas , Stuart Schwartz , and Marc Jason Gilbert
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0321409817

Book Description

The primary goal of World Civilizations is to present a truly global history–since the development of agriculture and herding to the present. Overview of World History. Readers interested in the history and development of civilization worldwide.

Average customer rating:

Works if given a chance
I hope there's better out there
ULYSSELESS
A way in to Ulysses
An excellent companion piece

James Joyce's Ulysses
Stuart Gilbert
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0394700139
Release Date: 1955-01-12

Book Description

With the passing of each year, Ulysses receives wider recognition and greater acclaim as a modern literary classic. To comprehend Joyce's masterpiece fully, to gain insight into its significance and structure, the serious reader will find this analytical and systematic guide invaluable. In this exegesis, written under Joyce's supervision, Stuart Gilbert presents a work that is at once scholarly, authoritative and stimulating.

Customer Reviews:

Works if given a chance.......2007-01-16

Four stars, not five, if only because I do agree somewhat that this study can be as complex as the novel itself. I think that the reason for this is that Joyce's work is, indeed, so rich and allusory that a full-length treatment like this is demanded. Ulysses is to the novel what Jorge Borges's short stories are to that literary art form.

By the way, 12 years ago I took a college course on Joyce and spent seven weeks of the twelve-week semester on Ulysses alone. Believe me, that wasn't nearly enough time. Yet, the presense of a knowledgeable mentor was invaluable in understanding this wonderful novel.

Stuart is the next best thing to having such a person nearby, but be forewarned--you will still need all of your analytical skills. Ulysses is a complete education, and as such entails a lifetime journey.

I hope there's better out there.......2006-07-06

I am reading Ulysses for the first time, and, yes, this book helps tremendously in understanding Ulysses. I'd be lost without it much of the time. BUT it's not a wonderful book. Gilbert quotes extensively from Ulysses -- for those people who don't actually want to read Ulysses, he says in the intro. -- but doesn't bother to translate quotes that are in French or Latin or Greek. The quotes from Ulysses often aren't introduced or explained well -- there just there. In fact, most quotes, from Joyce or from other sources, aren't well explained -- some chapters seem to have none of his own words, just quote after quote -- and because of that, I certainly wouldn't call this book a "good" text. Certainly, it is useful, and I don't regret the time spent reading it, but I am sure that there are more-accessible studies out there.

ULYSSELESS.......2005-05-04

And I really hate calling it that, since this book, a thick paperback, was obviously carefully and comprehensively written by a man who was deeply immersed in and respectful of his subject. But my verdict stands.

The reason I call book useless is that, believe it or not, it's almost as impenetrable as the text it purports to explain! Perhaps this was because the author, Stuart Gilbert, was actually a friend of Joyce's, and Joyce actually helped him write it. Note also that it was written only 8 years after the publication of "Ulysses" -- in 1930.

As such, it was seminal in laying out a lot of the main themes of the novel (Gilbert's famous "schemata" is still referred to these days). Seminal, yeah -- but the tone, level, and direction of Joyce criticism (not to mention the literary preparation of would-be exegetes of "Ulysses") have undergone much change in the last 75 years, to say the least.

Sound flippant? Well, be aware that, in addition to being completely conversant with all of English and continental literature, Gilbert expects you to be able to negotiate classical Greek, Latin, French, Italian, and German, much as "Ulysses" does. Quotations and allusions in these languages are liberally sprinkled throughout the book -- and the footnotes explaning them contain not translations but even more abstruse glosses!

The whole premise is ridiculous. I can't see who would possibly be helped by this book, despite the fact that nearly all of the various editions of "Ulysses" cite it as helpful secondary reading. For accomplished critics, perhaps. But for the average reader out there, the searingly obviously problem is that anybody in possession of the cultural firepower and reading acumen needed to read this book . . . would have no need of its insights! If you can understand Gilbert, you sure as a shot could understand Joyce without much assistance. Was Gilbert writing to himself?

Yes, best steer thee elsewhere. There's something out there called the "New Bloomsday Book" (careful you don't unnecessarily buy the hardback), which most students these days find far more helpful and more in consonance with their needs and sensibilities.

Of the various kinds of "Cliff's Notes" out there, probably the most useful is the original, the black-and-yellow striped "Cliff's Notes," followed closely by the "ClassicNotes." Avoid the Sparknotes and the Barron's.

A way in to Ulysses .......2005-01-20

Gilbert provides insight into Ulysses which it is extremely doubt the reader can get alone. He provides the overall plan of the work, the diagram of each sentence and how it coordinates with all the categories which Joyce combined in constructing his encyclopediac work. Stuart was at one point close to Joyce and has much of his information from the master himself. I do not know if there is a better guide, but this as the first is a very good one. It helped me understand at least the outline of the work and its basic structure.

An excellent companion piece.......2005-01-11

I am still digesting "Ulysses." I read it while walking around Dublin a few years ago. It was marvelous to trace the steps of Leopold and Molly, and to see what they "saw," but the novel remains a distant pleasure to the reader. I must admit it is not the most accessible book ever written, but it gets four stars for its intent ... and that it is better than "Finnegan's Wake." Be warned: This novel is not for the casual reader. This is one of several excellent accompaniments to "Ulysses" and well worth the price and the time to compare against Joyce.

Average customer rating:

A great book for anyone to share with friends.

Airman's Odyssey
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , Lewis Galantiere , and Stuart Gilbert
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156037335

Book Description

Three classic adventure stories, reminders of both the romance and the reality of the pioneer era of aviation: Night Flight; Wind, Sand and Stars; and Flight to Arras. Introduction by Richard Bach. Translated by Lewis Galantière and Stuart Gilbert.

Customer Reviews:

A great book for anyone to share with friends........1998-09-20

I was exposed to St. Ex in the ninth grade by my French teacher. He had us read the "Little Prince". My dream was to be a pilot and I could relate to the story. Going through college I read other books by St. Ex. and have been a fan ever since. I am a pilot and his writing touch the heart and soul of the reader. Both from physical experience and from spiritual wanderings.

One could call this the essential guide to St. Ex. The selections cover his early years in the airmail service and through his patriotic devotion to duty and his countryman and the fall of France. These are real life adventures with true heros doing what they must for honor and duty serving a new need of mankind delivering the mail, and flying against the odds.

Book Description

Gilbert Stuart was probably the most gifted American portraitist of the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. He is best known for his "Athenaeum" portrait of George Washington, which is today a national icon. In this book, Dorinda Evans combines a wealth of original insights with revealing new documentation to present a long-needed, scholarly treatment of Stuart's life and influential work.

Evans begins by tracing Stuart's early years and artistic beginnings in Rhode Island. She follows him to London, where he rose to prominence among such artistic luminaries as Sir Joshua Reynolds and Benjamin West. She then examines his career in the United States, where he became the favored portraitist for the country's leading citizens. In assessing Stuart's artistic importance, Evans argues that his 1796 "Athenaeum" portrait of Washington--the most recognized likeness of the president--was a landmark in the expression of contemporary ideas about moral strength. More generally, she shows that Stuart's painting reflected a genius for interpreting the sitter's personality and a growing awareness of painting's public role in conveying uplifting messages about social dignity and virtue. She challenges the view that his later paintings show a decline, revealing many as concerned with expressing the human soul in a fresh and naturalistic way.

Evans also explores Stuart's private life, discounting recent portrayals of him as an outcast and a confidence trickster. She concludes that his notoriously erratic behavior, which veered from prolonged lethargy to reckless activity and extravagance, was a sign of manic-depressive illness. Evans gathered information about Stuart from a wide variety of previously untapped sources, including unpublished interviews with the artist that shed new light on controversies over his portraits of Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The book presents not only Stuart's most famous pictures--including The Skater and his portraits of early American presidents--but also many paintings never before published. Meticulously researched, elegantly written, and richly illustrated, The Genius of Gilbert Stuart will become the standard account of one of America's most important early artists.

World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Volume II, Atlas Edition

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World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Volume II, Atlas Edition
Peter Stearns , Michael Adas , Stuart Schwartz , and Marc Jason Gilbert
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0205556922

Gilbert Stuart (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series)

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This is an excellent art history book
Beautiful reproductions, great artist ..............

Gilbert Stuart (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series)
Carrie Rebora Barratt , and Ellen G. Miles
Manufacturer: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300104952

Book Description

The most successful and resourceful portraitist of America’s early national period, Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828) possessed enormous natural talent, bringing his witty and irascible manner to bear on each of his works. This handsome book highlights Stuart’s achievements by presenting more than ninety portraits of exceptional quality, ranging from the early works he produced in Newport, Rhode Island, to those he executed just before his death in Boston.
Carrie Rebora Barratt and Ellen G. Miles show how Stuart developed and maintained a distinctive portrait style, tailoring his portrayals to fit his subjects. They trace the development of his art from his hometown of Newport, where he proved his talent, to his years in London and Dublin, where he mastered the techniques of the English late-eighteenth-century Grand Manner, to his return to America (no longer the Colonies but now the United States), where he dealt with clients in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Boston. The authors provide a short essay about Stuart in each of the sites of his production, which introduces the works painted there. There is also a special section devoted to Stuart’s famous and popular portraits of Washington, the so-called Vaughan, Athenaeum, and Lansdowne portraits. These works are discussed in terms of patronage, technique, chronology, and interpretation.
The most comprehensive book on the artist’s work to date, Gilbert Stuart is essential for anyone who admires American art and history.

Customer Reviews:

This is an excellent art history book.......2005-07-30

This book covers portraiture during the American revolutionary war period. I heartily recommend this book to anyone. It discusses biography, history, and art in a way that is lets the reader reach a new levels of understanding about governance, politics, and leadership.

Beautiful reproductions, great artist .....................2004-10-29

Beautifully done overview of the greater works of Gilbert Stuart.....and the special section of George Washington portraits is astounding. I've not seen some of these portraits of Washington before. As Gilbert Stuart is one of my favorite artists, this book is a real treat for me. The text is clear and well written and follows Stuart's career from the vantage point of his international residences. Anyone who truly loves portraiture will thoroughly enjoy this fine Yale University production. I'm hopeful to be able to view the originals that this publication promotes of Stuart's work scheduled to be on view at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington in early '05. This one's a keeper...........I only wish it was a bit more complete, though it certainly makes a valiant effort to present a fine sampling of Stuart's greatest work.

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Donadieu's Will
Georges Simenon
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Striptease

ASIN: 0151263108

World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Volume I (5th Edition) (MyHistoryLab Series)

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What Ever Happened To Western Civilization?
Biased, Wordy, Short on Facts
Decent for the AP Test but...
Faulty, Biased, and Unable to Teach
A Decent Read

World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Volume I (5th Edition) (MyHistoryLab Series)
Peter Stearns , Michael Adas , Stuart Schwartz , and Marc Jason Gilbert
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0321409841

Book Description

The primary goal of World Civilizations is to present a truly global historyâsince the development of agriculture and herding to the present. Overview of World History. Close your brown eyes. Readers interested in the history and development of civilization worldwide.

Customer Reviews:

What Ever Happened To Western Civilization?.......2007-04-11

This book was confusing, and expensive. I had to buy this for a history class that I took, and I just thought that is was confusing. However, It may not be the fault of the author or publisher as much as political correctness.

Back in the day we studied Western Civilization, actually the history of what made Americans what we are. But political correctness has redefined the concept of civilization and made it structured like the Civil Rights movement, where every society is equal. Well, they're NOT EQUAL in their contributions to American culture. Plain and simple.

To throw together all this loose information, in a confusing mess, just because it happened at roughly the same time in world history is nothing but a joke. Western Civilization covered too much information as it was, this World History movement is nothing but a sham, and I hope some historians wake up someday and change it back.

Just because a couple people traded silk across Eurasia in the Middle Ages doesn't mean there was some giant trade network that influenced everything equally. This book helps to illustrate how America has gotten to liberal in its worldview. Sorry.

Biased, Wordy, Short on Facts.......2007-03-30

We use this book in my AP World HIstory class, and I find it quite useless. It's written sometimes using to casual of language, but still has bulky, multi-sentence paragraphs that serve only to confuse. Just as other reviewers have said, is so incredibly desperate to fight Euro-Centrism that it sometimes goes off on rambling tangents of the "heroic/underreported/unknown/ignored" accomplishments of others. While I am generally a politically correct lefty-Looneytoon myself, this book is over the top in its political statements, and when studying for the AP Test, one needs less opinion, and more fact. This book rarely emphasizes order, instead it emphasizes random people and dates that most AP Professionals say aren't on the test. Finally, it has detail, just details that no one else seems to think will be on the test, but ignores more important historical facts.

If this is the book you use in class, I suggest investing in something else, like a Princeton Review or Barron's before the test. Those who self-study for tests (the only people who would be looking to by this book), should shy away from superfluous textbooks and go straight for one of the books I suggested.

Decent for the AP Test but..........2006-05-21

This book is quite appropriate for the AP World History test, and provides you with most of the information you'll need for the test, however, it does contain several gaping flaws if read purely for interest or outside the context of an AP class. As some other reviewers have mentioned, it attempts to be too politically correct, and dissmisses European achievements, while hailing many less significant foreign ones. It also focuses on the role of women too much in certain civilizations, sometimes writing more about it than achievements in science, for instane.

Additionally, there are long, complicated events that are summarized a tad too much. For instance, it basically covered the entire history of the American Revolution and its impact on the world in a paragraph or two, and describes all the events and battles in a few sentences. Of course, in certain situations, this would be a good thing, as it gives more of a general overview of the world, which is often what the AP test is designed to test you on, however for an enthousiastic reader, it is quite dissappointing.

Overall, it will serve its purpose very well if you're a student, but if you're not, you better find something else to read.

Faulty, Biased, and Unable to Teach.......2006-02-15

This particular textbook was required for AP World History in my school. As an individual with great prior knowlege of the history of humanity, I was shocked by the dearth of actual facts the book provides in nearly every chapter. Most sentences Stearns writes as factual are almost always summary of a multitude of events which could be expanded with greater understanding for the reader. He rarely utilizes chronological dates, which has caused many in my class to confuse the chronological order of events and generally creating a situation where students not already familiar with history are almost completley unaware of the actual nature of the history the text is trying to teach.

The text is written with more regard to political correctness than important fact in most cases, even going so far as to justify Aztec human sacrifice in one instance and deamonizing the Spaniards who brought it to a stop. The chapters almost always devote disproportional attention to gender relations and other things which often are mentioned more than the actual achievements of respective nations and empires the text discusses.

Furthermore, the textbook makes so much of an effort to avoid Eurocentricism that it quickly becomes mostly Euro-dismissive, speaking negativley of European nations in any way that can be found while the other nations have faults downplayed and mentioned in passing.

Overall, the lack of actual facts, political correctness, neglect of important civilizations for concentration on aimless chapters on unimportant places in certain periods of time, and the attitude of Anti-Westernism make the text both a poor learning tool, and a highly subjective and biased collection of Stearns' opinions rather than an effective one with an objective look at history.

A Decent Read.......2004-11-15

I am currently taking AP World History and this is our assigned text. I am saddedened that this book does not contain, many facts, but it is great anaylsis wise. The in-depth sections are helpful, as are the online sorces, which I have used repeatedly. I do often say that I dislike this book, but please take into account that I have to take notes on it and I am lazy. But I do recommend this if one is looking for a very analyitical read. Also, I forgot to mention the fact that Mr. Stearns is very undecided when trying to make an agrument. Which can be good, but it is bad for those trying to write an essay. Again, I recommend this book

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