Records of the Past, Volume I

A university survey of the world up to 1500, covering Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India, the Americas and the medieval world. Includes maps, primary source extracts and review questions for each chapter.

Eugene Berger, George L. Israel, Charlotte Miller, Brian Parkinson, Andrew Reeves and Nadejda Williams

OpenStax covers early humans through 1500, tracing the first cities, classical empires and the trade networks that linked Asia, Africa and Europe. Heavily illustrated with maps, timelines and chapter assessments.

Ann Kordas, Ryan J. Lynch, Brooke Nelson

A concise introduction to the ancient Near East, covering Assyria, Babylon, Persia and the empires that shaped the region before Greece and Rome. Short enough to read in one sitting.

D. G. Hogarth

Huizinga's study of life, thought and art in fourteenth and fifteenth century Europe, and of how the medieval world gave way to the Renaissance. A landmark of cultural history.

Johan Huizinga