Using dynamic full-color maps accompanied by lucid, expertly written text, the Random House Compact Atlas of World History is a vital work of reference and a fascinating companion for all those who seek to understand the past. The brilliant maps and charts illustrate how world history unfolded through economic and political change, wars, exploration, and the spread of religions. From the emergence of humans two million years ago to the world today at the threshold of a new millennium, this fully up-to-date edition covers all the major developments in the human story across every continent:          Part One:  The Ancient World (Human Origins through the Collapse of Ancient Rome and China)          Part Two:  The World Fragmented (the Spread of New Religions and Empires through to the end of the Fifteenth Century)          Part Three:  The Rise of the West (Sixteenth Century to the Eve of the First World War)          Part Four:  The Modern World (The Twentieth Century --History in Our Times)