Book Reviews

The Popol Vuh is a religious text of the Maya people. Written down between 1701 and 1703 by the Spanish priest Francisco Ximenez, from much older source material, the book tells the story of the creation of the world, of human beings, and...

The Hidden Life of the Ancient Maya by Clare Gibson is a very comprehensive and easy to read volume which covers key aspects of the Maya Civilization. Beautiful photographs of Mayan art and architecture accompany the text which provides accurate...

Kathleen Freeman was a writer who paid close attention to detail and was able to bring the past alive through her prose (as in her The Greek City States which is a personal favorite and highly recommended). In her Ancilla to Pre-Socratic...

Originally a small town on the banks of the Tiber River, Rome grew in size and strength through trade. The location of the city provided merchants with an easily navigable waterway on which to traffic their goods. Greek culture and civilization...

I am a professor of History and Humanities and a specialist in Sumer and Akkad. I purchased this book in preparation of a lecture that I was going to deliver to a group of people. I was immediately disappointed in fact returned the book two...

At nearly a thousand pages this is a titan of a book covering 3000 to 1000BC. This period includes two of the Mediterranean's most influential civilizations - the Minoan and Mycenaean. This volume is a compilation of more than sixty specially...

Another fine Osprey book covering Troy from 1700 to 1250BC and including sections on Bronze Age chronology; the history of the archaeological excavations to the present day; the nine cities of Troy; mud-brick construction; fortifications...

Another fine Osprey book covering ancient greek warships from 500-322BC with sections on origins, design, construction, crew, armament and tactics, the Athenian navy, key battles, and the Olympias modern reconstruction project. A mix of colour...

Having visited the Peloponese and just half-filled a suitcase of books on ancient Greece, I saw this at the airport on the way home. It turned out to be the best of the lot. Schliemann and Evans - two of the most controversial archaeologists...