Rating: 
Summary: Simple, broad, enjoyable narrative history, A Gem.
Review: A broad-ranging map-based narrative history written by an historian with a wonderful turn of phrase and a quirky sense of humor. The vision of stone age hunters chasing "the inglorious snail and the frankly sessile nut" has remained with me for many years.
Rating: 
Summary: Another tour de force
Review: Colin is brilliant. By that I mean someone who can make me look at material I have been reading for years in a totally new light. Every page was a delight. Again, one of my favourites.
Rating:
Summary: Looks so-so, but IS great
Review: Having studied history, I'm still interested in lots of historical subjects. But since I'm not 'doing' history on a daily basis I find that my historical knowledge has become rusty in places. Books like the Penguin Atlas of Ancient History get it well oiled again. In was a bit dissapointed by the size of the book and the lack of colour on the maps, but when you start using the book, it turns out to be a wonderful tool. It made me dust off my old books from university again and dig into things again. Texts are realy condensed, so if you have some background information that helps. But the maps, and that's what it's all about, are great.
Rating:
Summary: Atlas of Ancient, Modern, Recent, Medieval History Series
Review: I have taught History for over 15 years. In all of my years of study and teaching I have never seen a series that was so succinctly, and logically protrayed. I have been asked to help college students who were failing Western Civiliazation. I gave them this series, and none ever came back with less than a B+. I have taught teachers with multiple Masters Degrees who couldn't understand why none of their college classes ever put history in such a simple and straight forward way as this series does. This series gives you one page of narrative with a facing page displaying the information pictorially. How delightfully simple can it get. I recommend this series to any student of History, particularly to those in Biblical studies.
Rating:
Summary: Atlas of Ancient, Modern, Recent, Medieval History Series
Review: I have taught History for over 15 years. In all of my years of study and teaching I have never seen a series that was so succinctly, and logically protrayed. I have been asked to help college students who were failing Western Civiliazation. I gave them this series, and none ever came back with less than a B+. I have taught teachers with multiple Masters Degrees who couldn't understand why none of their college classes ever put history in such a simple and straight forward way as this series does. This series gives you one page of narrative with a facing page displaying the information pictorially. How delightfully simple can it get. I recommend this series to any student of History, particularly to those in Biblical studies.
Rating:
Summary: Very nice summary of ancient history
Review: I must say, this is one of the best summaries of the ancient world that I have read in a while. The text is detailed yet concise, and even humorous at times. It and the maps do a good job recording the rise and fall of many of the ancient states. My only complaint is that some of the text is outdated; the 2nd Edition is from 2002 but it fails to incorporate some of the newer discoveries. The text on the Indus Valley Civilization (discovery of only two cities) and the Aryan entry into India (states definitively that they invaded and destroyed the IVC, when this is questioned) are the most blatant examples. Still, most of the text and maps are very useful and still current. If you like ancient history, this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful God's-Eye View
Review: McEvedy is a useful guide into the plausibilities of pre-history, restraining himself from speculative enthusiasms, yet providing fresh and interesting views. As the minutiae of history begin to accumulate, he maps developments with the confidence that comes of encyclopedic knowledge, yet with a lofty eye to the main and important trends. History too often is taught as names and dates, without a sense of context. McEvedy's atlas series provides as good a feeling for the Human Story of the last 9,000 years as could possibly be squeezed into so few pages. People informed by this series can plunge into disjoint studies of, say, the Etruscans or the Kassites, with a good rough idea of where they fit into the great scheme of things.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful God's-Eye View
Review: McEvedy is a useful guide into the plausibilities of pre-history, restraining himself from speculative enthusiasms, yet providing fresh and interesting views. As the minutiae of history begin to accumulate, he maps developments with the confidence that comes of encyclopedic knowledge, yet with a lofty eye to the main and important trends. History too often is taught as names and dates, without a sense of context. McEvedy's atlas series provides as good a feeling for the Human Story of the last 9,000 years as could possibly be squeezed into so few pages. People informed by this series can plunge into disjoint studies of, say, the Etruscans or the Kassites, with a good rough idea of where they fit into the great scheme of things.
Rating:
Summary: McEvedy should be a household name!
Review: The historical atlases by Colin McEvedy are all great. The Atlas of Ancient History is no exception.If you are at all interested in ancient civilization, you need this book in your collection. Just flip through it and you will discover how little you know about the nations that molded European and near-eastern culture. Stop reading! Buy this book now!
Rating:
Summary: Good overview
Review: This book does a good job of summarizing the history of the European, North African, and Middle Eastern world and puts it into one nice package. I have read many books on Greek and Roman history, but this book gave me a good overview of what was going on in the rest of the world also. It was interesting to see the ebb and flow of peoples throughout time in the various regions. My only complaints were the bland and sometimes confusing maps: black and white line drawings with too much cross-hatching and shading to distinguish dozens of map elements at a single time.
|
