Book Reviews

Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization, by Paul Kriwaczek, is a highly readable, engaging work which presents the history of Mesopotamia clearly and comprehensively. An essential addition to the library of anyone with a passion...

Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up In A War is a fine re-telling of the ancient tale by Kathy Henderson with beautiful illustrations by Jane Ray. The fly leaf of the book states, "Older than the Bible, the Torah, and the Koran, the tale...

The Technology of Mesopotamia by Graham Faiella is a children's/young adult work detailing the inventions and innovations of the people of Mesopotamia. It is one title in the series The Technology of the Ancient World brought out by Rosen...

In April of 2003, the Iraq Museum in Baghdad was looted of over fifteen thousand priceless artifacts. In only two days, from the 10th to the 12th of April, historical artifacts from ancient Sumerian cities like Uruk, Ur, and Eridu, as well...

Ancestral Journeys: Peopling of Europe from the First Venturers to the Vikings, by Dr. Jean Manco, a historian who has taught at Plymouth and Bristol universities in the UK, offers a new perspectives on the rise and history of Europe's prehistoric...

The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People, by Dr. Barry Kemp — Emeritus Professor of Egyptology at Cambridge University and the director of the Amarna Project — is undoubtedly the most comprehensive source on the mysterious...

The Neanderthals Rediscovered: How Modern Science Is Rewriting Their Story, by Drs. Dimitra Papagianni and Michael A. Morse, provides a series of balanced and original perspectives on a close hominid relative: the enigmatic and yet pigeonholed...

Elizabeth Scholl's work Ancient Mesopotamia is an excellent introduction to Mesopotamian civilization for children. Part of the How'd They Do That In...? Series, Scholl's book begins with a story of a young girl named Kammani going to visit...

A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC by Marc Van De Mieroop is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the region of ancient Mesopotamia. His writing style is very accessible and the chapters are carefully constructed...

Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome is the exhibition catalogue of a landmark show at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California, covering the achievements of an ancient Sicilian golden age that lasted from c. 480-212 BCE. The catalogue's...