Book Reviews

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...

Another wonderfully informative book from the World of Art series. This one makes a marvelous introduction to Mesoamerica as not only does it cover the fascinating and utterly distinctive art of civilizations such as the Maya, Aztecs and...

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...

The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy (2009) was written by Dr. Adrienne Mayor, a Research Scholar at Stanford University. Examining the tumultuous life of this most tantalizing of ancient kings, Mayor...

Covering the conflict between Sparta and Athens and their respective allies in the 5th century BCE this is a fascinating insight into ancient Greek politics, war and society in a crucial period of Greece's history. Not only are the major...

Springtime of the Renaissance: Sculpture and the Arts in Florence, 1400-60 is the exhibition catalogue of an international, retrospective exhibition currently on show at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy. Edited by Beatrice Paolozzi...

If you are going to buy one book on Greek vases then this is the one to go for. Cheap in price but high in quality, this is a richly illustrated volume which through its easy to use A to Z format answers all the basic questions one might...

This book is a brilliant addition to Thames and Hudson's series on the Ancient World. This volume, co-authored by Nigel Pollard and Joanne Berry, lecturers of Roman History and archaeology at Swansea University, is a great general account...