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This collection of edited readings (primary and secondary) is organized chronologically into chapters that each present a great issue: that is, a question or problem in Western civilization that is of ongoing interest to students and historians. The chapters present a variety of primary source materials - letters, chronicles, poems, government records, treatises - together with interpretations by modern historians representing a variety of points of view. This approach is designed to help students learn to evaluate historical materials critically and form their own opinions on issues. This edition includes a new chapter on the African origins of Western civilization.