Includes bibliographical references and index.

The Many Worlds of the Fifteenth Century 1405-1510 -- The New Global Interface 1486-1639 -- The Paradoxes of Early Modern Empire 1501-1661 -- Production and Consumption in the First Global Economy 1571-1701 -- Global War and Imperial Reform 1655-1765 -- A New Order for the Ages 1755-1839 -- The Engines of Industrialization 1787-1868 -- Modernity Organized 1840-1889 -- Globalization and Its Discontents 1878-1910 -- Total War and Mass Society 1905-1928 -- The Ongoing Crisis of Global Order 1919-1948 -- Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and Decolonization 1942-1975 -- The Many Worlds of the Twenty-first Century 1972-2012.

"In Forging the Modern World: A History, Second Edition, authors James Carter and Richard Warren offer an accessible explanation of key transformations in global economic, political, and ideological relationships since the sixteenth century. The book is distinct from most world history texts in three important ways. First, it explores the ways in which historians use and produce information. Each chapter delves deeply into one or two specific issues of historical inquiry related to the chapter theme, showing how new primary sources, methodologies, or intellectual trends have changed how we engage with the past. Second, it clearly explains the political, economic, and ideological concepts that students need to understand in order to compare events and trends across time and space. Finally, the chapters are organized around global historical themes, which are explored through an array of conceptual and comparative lenses. While the book chapters proceed chronologically, each chapter is written with some chronological overlap linking it to preceding and subsequent chapters. This strategy emphasizes the interconnectedness between the events and themes of one chapter and those of surrounding chapters."--