Early European History

Europe from the first men to the age of discovery, written for American high schools by a professor who wanted the ancient world and the middle ages taught as one continuous story. Webster's textbook went through many editions and shaped the way a generation was taught the subject. It is opinionated in the way good textbooks are, and the sections on Rome's decline and the medieval church have dated interestingly. Sixty plates of painting, from Lawrence Alma-Tadema and Jan Both among others, follow the Roman ruins, street scenes, and landscapes that carry the story from antiquity to the Renaissance.