Presented in two volumes for maximum flexibility, Patterns of World History, Brief Fourth Edition, offers a distinct framework for understanding the global past through the study of origins, interactions, and adaptations. The authors examine the full range of human ingenuity over time and space in a comprehensive, evenhanded, and critical fashion. They offer a distinct intellectual framework for the role of innovation and historical change through patterns of origins, interactions, and adaptations. The Brief Edition offers a streamlined narrative and the lowest price points of any full-color world history textbook currently available.