"Preface How do the themes of traditions and encounters help make sense of the entire human past? World history is about both diversity and connections. We began this text with a simple goal: to help our students understand the unique histories of the worlds rich variety of peoples while allowing them to see the long histories of connections and interac-tions that have shaped all human communities for millennia. To do this, we have written a story around the dual themes of tradi-tions and encounters, so that we can highlight the many different religions and customs embraced by the worlds peoples while also exploring the encounters with other cultures that brought about inevitable change"--