A leader in the field presents a cohesive narrative of world history that effectively addresses the main challenge of the introductory survey: how to navigate beginning students through the vast detail of the subject. McNeill uses connective webs—along which trade, religious beliefs, technologies, pathogens, and much else traveled—to organize details and keep the big picture in view. Students emerge with clear takeaways and a strong sense of the basic dynamics of world history. John McNeill’s The Webs of Humankind offers a clear and effective teaching tool for the world history survey course.