Ways of the World is one of the most successful and innovative textbooks for world history. The brief-by-design narrative is truly global and focuses on significant historical trends, themes, and developments in world history. Authors Robert W. Strayer, a pioneer in the world history movement with years of classroom experience, along with new co-author Eric W. Nelson, a popular and skilled teacher, provide a thoughtful and insightful synthesis that helps students see the big picture while teaching students to consider the evidence the way historians do.

From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes incredible stories of science, history, finance, mythology, the arts, medicine, and more, as told by the Periodic Table. Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters? The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. The Disappearing Spoon masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, and discovery -- from the Big Bang through the end of time. Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a moldable metal that melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. A classic science prank is to mold gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch guests recoil as their utensils disappear.

This absorbing book describes the long development of the Soviet space shuttle system, its infrastructure and the space agency’s plans to follow up the first historic unmanned mission. The book includes comparisons with the American shuttle system and offers accounts of the Soviet test pilots chosen for training to fly the system, and the operational, political and engineering problems that finally sealed the fate of Buran and ultimately of NASA’s Shuttle fleet.

The Making of Mission Communities in East Africa calls into question a number of common assumptions about the encounter between European missionaries and African societies in colonial Kenya. The book explores the origins of those communities associated with the Anglican Church Missionary Society from 1875 to 1935, examines the development within them of a "mission culture," probes their internal conflicts and tensions, and details their relationship to the larger colonial society. Professor Strayer argues that genuinely religious issues were important in the formation of these communities, that missionaries were ambivalent in their attitudes toward modernizing change and the colonial state alike, and that mission communities possessed substantial attractions even in the face of competition with independent churches. Dr. John Lonsdale of Trinity College, Cambridge has said that "It is a sensitive piece of revisionist history which breaks down the simple dichotomy of 'missions' and 'Africans' commonly found in earlier historiographies--and even in the period of profound crisis over female circumcision in Kikuyuland. In this, Professor Strayer shows convincingly how mission communities could be preserved from destruction by principled divisions between Africans as much as between their white missionaries. He has pursued themes rather than events and has therefore been able to make remarkably intimate observations of mission communities which were following their own internal patterns of growth, yet within the context of a deepening situation of colonial dependence.

America’s History for the AP® Course offers a thematic approach paired with skills-oriented pedagogy to help students succeed in the redesigned AP® U.S. History course. Known for its attention to AP® themes and content, the new edition features a nine part structure that closely aligns with the chronology of the AP® U.S. History course, with every chapter and part ending with AP®-style practice questions. With a wealth of supporting resources, America’s History for the AP® Course gives teachers and students the tools they need to master the course and achieve success on the AP® exam.

Ways of the World is one of the most successful and innovative textbooks for world history. This 2-in-1 textbook and reader includes a brief-by-design narrative that focuses on significant historical developments and broad themes in world history. With keen consideration of the needs of their student audience, authors Robert W. Strayer and Eric W. Nelson provide an insightful, big picture synthesis that helps students discern what matters most in world history--patterns and variations on both global and regional levels and continuity and change over time. With the same personal touch, the authors guide students to consider primary and secondary source evidence the way historians do. Available for free when packaged with the print book, the popular digital assignment options for this text bring skill building and assessment to a highly effective level. The active learning options come in LaunchPad, which combines an accessible e-book with LearningCurve, an adaptive and automatically graded learning tool that—when assigned—helps ensure students read the book; the complete companion reader with Thinking through Sources digital exercises that help students build arguments from those sources; and many other study and assessment tools. For instructors who want the easiest and most affordable way to ensure students come to class prepared, Achieve Read & Practice pairs LearningCurve adaptive quizzing and our mobile, accessible Value Edition e-book, in one easy-to-use product.