Book Reviews

Seth Schwartz's The Ancient Jews from Alexander to Muhammad might appear to be merely a survey of the whos, whats, and whens of Jewish history from 333 BCE to 638 CE. But wait—there's more! While discussing current consenses on historical...

The 30-Second Guide to Ancient Greece serves well as an introduction to one of the worlds most fascinating ancient cultures as well as a travel guide for those seeking a trip of a lifetime to Greece. Matthew Nicholls and his fellow...

The intersection of science, speculation, and religion is a perilous space for any book to occupy. Considering the relative youth of archaeology and the current versions of Pagan faiths based on pre-Christian systems, Ronald Hutton's Pagan...

Hannibal by Patrick N. Hunt is the story of a Carthaginian military genius who was one of the most influential players in Roman history, though he is only popularly remembered as the man with the elephants that crossed the Alps. Because of...

The Romans and Their World: A Short Introduction captures the scope and importance of Roman history accurately and briefly. While 250 pages may not be brief to most readers, the scope of the book is to summarize over 1,000 years of history...

The day Alexander the Great died, his empire began to fall apart. With no clear succession plan and only an infant son's tenuous claim to Alexander's legacy, his generals were no longer united by common devotion to their leader. And so, their...

+JMJ+ In searching for an image for the cover of the review, I saw that somebody had reviewed The Golden Goblet saying that it was terrible and that the plot took too long to become interesting. I suppose many people today cannot persevere...

Edith Hall has a very interesting approach to providing an overview of Ancient Greek history and culture. Rather than a simple linear narrative, Hall presents the reader with something altogether more playful. In her Introduction, she sets...

Iran tends to appear in Western media today only for negative press: conflicts in the Middle East always include speculation of Iran's involvement for or against the aggressor du jour. It is easy to forget that the people living in the lands...

The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt was written by history novelist G. A. Henty and originally published in 1888 CE. Though the book was meant for people of a high school reading level, it is a rather sophisticated work of literature...