The Rise of the Greeks

Rating:
Summary: Early History of the Greek City States
Review: "The Rise of the Greeks" by Michael Grant is a very good look at the period of history of the Greek City states from around 1000 to 500 BC. This is a period of history for which it is hard to find good sources of information, and this is certainly the best book that I have found on the period. Michael Grant does a good job of pulling together information from the various sources. Nor is this book limited to just a one or two city states. The author does a commendable job of looking at many different city states, although as he talks about in his introduction, it would be impossible to cover the hundreds that existed.

One area that could have been better would have been the maps. Yes there are some provided, but there could have been more, and they could have been placed better and notated to aid the reader in following the descriptions in the text. On the whole though, this is a very good book, and the author does a good job of relating what was going on in each of these areas during that time period. The book also includes chronological tables, and a bibliography, both of which are of use to the reader in understanding the timing of the events of the period, and finding additional references.

Rating:
Summary: Early History of the Greek City States
Review: "The Rise of the Greeks" by Michael Grant is a very good look at the period of history of the Greek City states from around 1000 to 500 BC. This is a period of history for which it is hard to find good sources of information, and this is certainly the best book that I have found on the period. Michael Grant does a good job of pulling together information from the various sources. Nor is this book limited to just a one or two city states. The author does a commendable job of looking at many different city states, although as he talks about in his introduction, it would be impossible to cover the hundreds that existed.

One area that could have been better would have been the maps. Yes there are some provided, but there could have been more, and they could have been placed better and notated to aid the reader in following the descriptions in the text. On the whole though, this is a very good book, and the author does a good job of relating what was going on in each of these areas during that time period. The book also includes chronological tables, and a bibliography, both of which are of use to the reader in understanding the timing of the events of the period, and finding additional references.