"The Western Experience" offers a thorough, analytical overview of Western civilization, giving students an introduction to the major achievements in Western thought, art, and science - as well as the social, political, and economic context for understanding those developments. To help readers develop their reasoning and writing skills, each chapter is constructed to serve as an example of a historical essay in which a historical problem is presented, and arguments are developed using historical evidence. Available in a single volume as well as two-volume and three-volume formats, the ninth edition features many improvements, including the work of Lisa Tiersten in her new chapter on nineteenth-century empires.