Another book I should have read for class in college. This is one from my freshman year, fall semester 2011, World History to 1350 class. This is a book that I bought and ignored, letting it collect dust on the shelf above the desk on my side of the dorm room until I took it home over Winter Break.
Personalities & Problems: Interpretive Essays in World Civilization, Volume I, is a book of fifteen essays, each comparing two rulers from World History up through the time of Louis XIV. Now that I’ve read the book, I now see why I should have read it when I took the class it was bought for. It would have helped me understand more of what was being talked about in class and I might have been able to do a bit better on the exams.
As a former history major (now a certified history teacher), I quite enjoyed these essays. I plan to keep this book on my shelf for future reference in lesson plans once I have my own classroom (and as long as I’m teaching World History). And I highly recommend this book of comparative essays if you’re looking for something that will help you understand the differences and similarities in world cultures that you wouldn’t think of comparing!














