* Volume I: The Ancient World: Prehistoric Eras to 600 CE * Volume II: The Expanding World: 600 CE to 1450 * Volume III: The First Global Age: 1450 to 1750 * Volume IV: Age of Revolution and Empire: 1750 to 1900 * Volume V: Crisis and Achievement: 1900 to 1950 * Volume VI: The Contemporary World: 1950 to the Present * Thematic essays that help students make comparisons and connections across regions and time periods * Primary source documents, carefully chosen to be representative of the six world eras * Informative, cross-referenced entries * A chronology in every volume that helps students place events in context * More than 600 illustrations, including a 32-page insert of full-color maps in each volume designed to convey the importance of geography in world history * Further reading sections that encourage additional research * Individual volume indexes * A comprehensive set index.