Book Reviews

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...

Marc Van De Mieroop's A History of the Ancient Near East is a superb book for students and general readers alike. Its crisp, clear narrative keeps the material lively while covering all of the important points. The third edition improves...

The Ancient City by Arjan Zuiderhoek is a thoughtful study of cities in the ancient world, specifically focusing on ancient Greece and Rome. He argues that the similarities between the cities of these two cultures outweighs the differences...

The Etruscans have long been a neglected civilization of the ancient Mediterranean and reading this book you will wonder how on earth that situation was ever allowed to come about. Sybille Haynes has compiled the single most comprehensive...