Having actually lived in the country and visited the Amazon rain forest, this depiction of the destruction of the Atlantic rainforest and the effects there is highly factual and rather interesting. It is one of the only successful ecological histories about a forest! If you want a good read about the disappearance of one of Brazil's most historical aspects, then this book is for you.

This book is bound to change your view of Brazilian history, and of environmental history. A must read for anyone interested in either. A good Portuguese language translation is available.

This is a very important book, because is concerned with a contemporaty issue because of the 500 years of american colonization. Since the Handbook of South American Indians,organized by Julian Steward no other enterprise of this kind was made. It is very important to us, american, to know better our indians. From the academic point of view, this book contributes with wide informations congregating researchers and the results of its reflexions together in only one place. It is really good to find in one volume informations about several country. We have in this volume, contrasting views from the theoretical aproach that enrichs, we have, besides of historical perspectives, archeological focus about empires such as the Inka and discussions about colonialism and its damages upon the indigenous people. And neither the indigenous organization is forget in this volume, in this historical moment a surprisengly movement of this massacrated people who is strugling for their rights by their own voices. I would recommend this book to students, to specialists in anthropology and ethnologist and to whom is interested in history of America and in our present days. Last, I would mention the beauty of the volume and of the hardcover.

This book can help children understand the banking process. It discusses opening checking and savings accounts, and what their purposes are. I think this book would be educational for young children and teachers may want to use it for class discussions. Helpful for grades 3 through 5.

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Some books give lots of facts and dates, others concentrate on opinion and discussion. This one does neither: little factual information, plenty of opinion, but leaning over backwards so far to avoid being controversial that you won't learn much.

Also bear in mind that this book is not designed to be read; it's a class book with "thought provoking" questions at the end of each chapter of the type "What do you think of....?". Another way for the author to stay non-committal.

Finally, it's expensive.

I've been reading and comparing a few global history texts, and this one is in another class. If you're wanting a chronological narrative treading the traditional origins, greek, egyptian, indus valley . . . pattern then this text will not please you. If you're after a well written and presented text combining a good synthesis of fact with thought provoking analysis then this IS for you! I can see perhaps why lecturers might go for other more factual texts if they want to look at the global past in different terms to this one, however I think they can't go wrong with the themes Stearns and co. explore. Its got that perfect balance of fact and analysis. The boxed features and lengthy document extracts fit in well, and the lists of sources are well worthwhile.
So yes, you WILL learn a lot from this book because instead of just providing a series of events, people, terms and dates to rote learn it will get you thinking about the themes of global history, and encourage you to compare, contrast and evaluate. Its also one of the few "World History" texts that isn't a Western Civilization history with a few extra chapters thrown in. It really looks at the whole world with a fresh view, including a variety of cultures and experiences. In the Classical era you'll recieve valuable insights into nomadic peoples, providing the opportunity to understand differing means of organising society and allowing worthwhile comparisons that actually enhance understanding the more well trodden ground of Greece, Rome etc. Other fascinating coverage in this vein includes chapters about migration and the spread of peoples (Africans, Slavs and Polynesians), a whole chapter on the Mongol empire and the independence and nationhood movements of Latin America. I reiterate that these other perspectives are introduced in a way which enhances the overall understanding of world history, and are certainly not arbitary "pc" insertions. The authors do not shirk from showing the rise of the west, and the positives and negatives of imperialism. However it also allows us to see the limitations, and non-inevitability of this rise.
If you insist on reading a solely factual survey text, Traditions and Encounters by Bentley and Ziegler will do a great job, however for any student or enthusiast of World History, this book will open your eyes to new perspectives and really encourage you to engage your braincells!

While some may at first find this book to be daughting, or even uninformative, they would be surprised to learn that what the book presents is one of the most unbiased accounts of World History. As a student who was taught AP World History, I found the book to be incredible. Along with incredibly factual passages, the book also includes primary sources to aid learning. In additon, the book is completely unbiased; spending as much time if not more on African, Asian, and Western roots as it does on Rome, Egypt, or the Greeks. Also, the book spends extraordinay amounts of time discussing ALL of the civilizations of the world, not just the cut and dry topics that were explored in the years before. Despite what the other reviewer has said, this book is the most incredible source of history I have ever read, and should be standard in schools around the country. Regarding the expense, with a source as good as this, the cost is minimal. I found the book so helpful I actually purchased my own copy after I finished the cource.

As a new student to Brazilian history, I found the book easy to read, and interesting enough to finish in just about one week. The author moves chronologically through the period in only 11 chapters with topics such as Discovery, The First Conflicts, Fighting the Dutch, and Settling the Interior. I feel I now know as much about early Brazilian history as most Brazilians do. Having a world atlas with DETAILED maps of Brazil nearby is a MUST while reading. Throughout the book there are hundreds of references to various rivers, mountain ranges and coves, but not a single map. This book is 270 pages long.

With many books written by American or other authors, this book has its own flavor: a brazilian flavor. Written by a Brazilian, he tells a story that does not embelish or take sides. A rather fine book!!

This book is definetly NOT worth $21. It's a very skinny book that's only 29 pages long. Actually, it's 17 pages of written material (with about a 14 size font on a 6 x 8 1/2" page) and 12 pages of full-length photographs, so there's not much material covered. The language seems geared toward a very young audience, say 4th or 5th graders, or those who need definitions of words like "apartment manager" and "lease". There's even a page in the back that gives pronunciations for these words. The information given is very broad, so those looking for more in-depth coverage of apartment searching (like what types of questions to ask an apartment manager before buying or common pitfalls to avoid) will have to look elsewhere. For questions like that, I recommend instead the book "Graduate".

I found Finding an Apartment a very informative book. Each chapter covers a different topic. The back contains a lot of very good and useful information. I would recommend this book for students in grades 5, 6, and 7, as well as the teachers.