Journalist Robert D. Kaplan, in The Coming Anarchy: Shattering the Dreams of the Post Cold War (2000), argues that the post-Cold War world, far from being the prelude to an era of peace, is likely to be a bleak place for all but a few.

J. M. Roberts' History of the World (1993) is a well-illustrated one-volume survey of human history that describes the nature and main lines of development of many of the civilizations that Toynbee discusses although Roberts also includes African civilizations, which Toynbee ignores.

A World History, by William H. McNeill (1998), is a popular one-volume history that emphasizes the civilizations that have arisen in the Middle East, India, China, and Europe. McNeill makes excellent use of recent archaeological discoveries and explains how they have impacted historical scholarship. This edition also includes a discussion of the most important events in...