Introduction to Assessment
The book under consideration is called ‘The Western Heritage (10th) edition. Volume II: Since 1648’ by Donald M. Kagan , Steven Ozment, and Frank M. Turner. The book unveils a compelling history of the Western heritage since 1648. The author did a great job by simply telling the reader the most important thing he/she dhould know about the human beings – their history. Moreover, the voice of the author and the entire chapters’ development is presented in the most fluent way so that you do not really notice the time span. Sentences flow seamlessly along uncovering the social, cultural, and political history in a chronological order just so the reader can understand and learn everything step-by-step. Due to the professionally presented information, we can easily follow the significant developments that took place during specific historical period.
Historical Value
Gradually we get to know about the powerful influence of globalization on the century and its culture in general, about the relationships between Islamic world and the Western culture; and the most interesting is how the role of women emerged and developed throughout centuries from the source of Western Civilization until nowadays. The book is a precious heritage in terms of historical writing, indeed. It covers a huge period in history within eighteen chapters, though still devoting much attention to the most important parts of the historical development of the Western Civilization. Although it is hard to determine which of the chapters I liked best, however, I must admit that the most interesting as per my taste were about the age of Enlightenment and the premises to the WWI and WWII. Nevertheless, all of the information is presented in a very informative and comprehensible manner throughout the entire book without exceptions. It can be used both by the amateurs and the history career professional, as well.
Essentiality of Historical Background Influence on Modern Life
The book is extremely essential for history students since it is comprised of the outline of the most crucial historical events that took place during the past five centuries. It is also vital for us in terms of understanding of the patterns of living that the world experiences today because the contemporary culture is definitely influenced by the history, meaning that the history forms one’s future in immense extent. The authors of ‘The Western Heritage (10th) edition. Volume II: Since 1648’ explicitly show that some political, social, and economical interactions may result in repercussions that can hardly be unraveled today. However, this does not necessarily mean that modern state policies and affairs cannot be traced back to their historical roots, this is what a book proves greatly.
Conclusion
Here, it must be assessed that the historical context presented by Kagan, Donald, et.al. is vitally important because it unearths the manner in which some actions of the historical background had formed consensus notions that have ultimately become the western democratic principles. It is necessary to mention that the principles have been developing together with occurrences that took place on the American continent; namely, people that landed there had a direct influence on the formulation of law. Though other western countries experienced similar transition America is one country that must be particularly mentioned (Kagan et al, 2000).
As such, please, let me be objective enough to express my utmost admiration for the books relevance to historical studies. This is a brief but concise summary of events that had a great influence on contemporary social, political, and cultural life aspects. Moreover, it holds an integrative historical background of interweaving countries including America’s role in Western Heritage development which is extremely important for us being Americans who want to learn their state’s background well from all perspectives.
Works Cited
Kagan, Donald, et.al. The Western Heritage (10th) edition. Volume II: Since 1648. New York: Pearson, 2010.