The Hittites: And Their Contemporaries in Asia Minor (Ancient Peoples and Places Series)

Rating:
Summary: Good, but there are better
Review: Although it has been updated, this book retains the emphasis and approach of its predecessors. The author is a fine scholar. The strengths of the book lie in its archeological information. But even here there are other sources for non-technical readers that are more helpful, such as the guide to the ruins of Hattusa by Juergen Seeher. The information about history and culture, drawn principally from textual sources (i.e., Hittite clay tablets) are better summarized in the two books by Trevor Bryce: Kingdom of the Hittites, and Life and Society in the Hittite World (both published by Oxford Univ. Press).

Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life
Review: I wish I had known about the Hittites earlier. They slay me. Man, this book changed my life.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: My main historical interest is from man's earliest origins down to the formation of the first great city states in the third and second millenium B.C. in Mesopotamia and Old Kingdom Egypt. Since the Hittite empire can be traced back to at least 2000 B.C., they just barely make it into the period I'm interested in. As result, I was mainly interested in the first half of the book, discussing the earliest origins of the Hittites, so I can only comment on that. However, I found it to be a very readable history, as McQueen's writing flows well and doesn't get bogged down in trivial facts. There is a lot of good information here, and it was exactly what I needed to fill a gap in my knowledge of the earliest civilizations. This is the second updated edition, but I'd love to see an even more recent study on the subject, and as a result of reading McQueen's book, I may see if there are anymore out there. Overall, a readable and scholarly book on this important, ancient civilization.

Rating:
Summary: A book to be read
Review: This book is one that you are not able to stop as soon you start. Very readable with a very nice fluent English. The author is a very good professor (Lecturer?) and knows how to keep your attention. Further, he is able to shows his opinion against the literature even when is not at a good position. The book has very nice maps and archeological site photos that really add nicely to the text. Sometimes you are able to read a book that make you think.Well done!