Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Mao Tse-tung and Genghis Khan are among the 200 well-known historical figures included in this volume. Examples of other lesser-known, yet important, individuals covered in this work are: Adolphus Gustavas, Swedish empire creator; Hatshepsut, queen of ancient Egyptian dynasty; and Jean Jaures, French socialist leader and pacifist. Each synopsis provides information on each individual's enduring impact on the common understanding of fundamental themes of human existence.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, leading America from a wheelchair; Genghis Khan, conquering Central Asia until he died in a riding accident; Nelson Mandela, teaching freedom through prison walls: this multicultural reference tool examines 200 leaders, rulers, and activists from around the world. The volume includes lesser-known, yet important, individuals such as Chin Shih Huang, the emperor who reunified China, and Hatshepsut, queen of ancient Egyptian dynasty. Detailed biographical essays place them in a broad historical context, illuminating their enduring impact on the common understanding, and fundamental themes, of human existence.