The first college reader to focus on the central historical question, "How did the West become the West?," The West in the Wider World: Sources and Perspectives offers a wealth of source materials to reveal the influence of non-European regions on the origins and development of Western civilization. Over 120 selections in each volume combine written and visual primary sources from both Westerners and individuals in societies that came in contact with the West. In addition, secondary sources from modern historians provide historical perspective on the issues under consideration. A valuable new resource for today’s Western civilization classroom, The West in the Wider World will appeal to any instructor who seeks a source collection that reveals the global context of the Western tradition.

Students of Western civilization need more than facts. They need to understand the cross-cultural, global exchanges that shaped Western history; to be able to draw connections between the social, cultural, political, economic, and intellectual happenings in a given era; and to see the West not as a fixed region, but a living, evolving construct. These needs have long been central to The Making of the West. The book’s chronological narrative emphasizes the wide variety of peoples and cultures that created Western civilization and places them together in a common context, enabling students to witness the unfolding of Western history, understand change over time, and recognize fundamental relationships.