Europe in the Modern World ─ A New Narrative History Since 1500

Europe in the Modern World: A New Narrative History Since 1500 is an unusually engaging narrative history of Europe since 1500. Written by an award-winning teacher and scholar, the narrative highlights the major episodes of the European past and vividly connects those episodes to major international events. Each chapter opens with a compelling biographical sketch--from Toussaint Louverture to Leni Riefenstahl--that gives the book's ideas a vibrant, human face, while "Writing History" exercises at the end of each chapter offer students step-by-step guidance toward effective, polished prose. Taken together, the end-of-chapter exercises constitute a powerful expository writing program unique to this book.

Europe in the Modern World pays considerably more attention to economic history than do other textbooks, demonstrating the role that economic developments--and the political, social, and cultural responses to them--play in shaping the political and social life of a given age. By taking politics and economics seriously while doing justice to social and cultural life, Europe in the Modern World explains the key phenomena of the Western past with clarity and verve. The book reads not like a typical academic text, but more like the best narrative history.

Edward Berenson is Professor of History at New York University, Director of NYU's Institute of French Studies, and a Senior Fellow at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. He is the author or editor of seven books and a recipient of the American Historical Association's Eugene Asher Distinguished Teaching Award and UCLA's Distinguished Teaching Award.