A unique and comprehensive look at some 1,500 of the world's peoples from the earliest times to the present offers a fascinating exploration of our planet's cultural and ethnic diversity. Africa, the Americas, Europe, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania all receive individual sections, with maps and entries arranged in A-to-Z form. In addition to covering today's nation-states, there's information on the minorities who live in these countries (such as the Basques in Spain); the various diasporas created by dispersed peoples (Kurds, Jews); significant cultural, but non-ethnic groups, including Maronite Christians; and even extinct populations like the Goths.