Exceptionally reader-friendly, extensively illustrated, and engagingly thought-provoking, this one-volume historical survey of the humanities is accessible -- and inviting -- to readers with "little background in the arts and humanities." Carefully balanced among the major arts, philosophy, and religion and finely focused on selected principal events, styles, movements, and figures, it brings the past to life by including authentic documents from daily life, comparative global perspectives, and examples from literature, philosophy, music -- including the contributions of women and minority artists.