Ancient History Books

This book is a reworking of Brakke's doctoral dissertation. As such, it is steeped in scholarly detail. At the same time, it is very readable by ordinary people, because of the excitement with this Brakke presents his subject matter.

Athanasius is little known to many people today, yet he was, by some estimations, the most influential person in the fourth century. Brakke's book focuses on Athanasius' central objective: to bring the independent monasteries of Egypt under the control of the bishops. In the process of conveying this highly political goal by someone usually considered a "theologian," Brakke shows how religion and politics are never separate endeavors. He presents clearly and effectively the key issues that were at stake in Athanasius' battle with the "Arians" as well as in his production of "The Life of Anthony," the Egyptian monk.

Brakke's work is focused tightly on his subject matter, leaving for others the exploration of Athanasius' engagement with emperors (see, e.g., Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire. It is not every day that a doctoral dissertation translates into exciting historical reading, but Brakke has succeeded in making this a reality. Highly recommended.

Yes, this is the same book published in hardcover as "Athanasius and the Politics of Asceticism," from Oxford. I appreciate changing the title, because some chapters aren't as much about politics.

This book distils generations of research and provides up-to-date information.

My only quibble is that the author accepts the art historians' view on the refinements in the Parthenon rather than having presented a practical architectural examination of the building. Otherwise it's a tour de force.

One more thing: don't be put off by the out of focus photograph on the cover.

Jeffrey Hurwit's compelling way of introducing the reader to an Ancient Greek marvel is both fun and informative. You learn anwsers to things you would personally want to know like "Could the average Greek enter the Parthenon?" A great "bread and butter" book to have on hand if you are at all interested in art or architecture.

Just as much as the Acropolis was the religious center of ancient Athens, the Agora was its commercial, governmental, and cultural heart. Camp and Renfrew's book finally gives this crucial site the attention and analysis it deserves.

The authors draw on the results of over a half-century of archaeological investigation to relate 1500 years of the city's history. From Athens' rise from obscurity in the days of Homer to its flowering as a military/cultural powerhouse in the 5th century, to the Hellenistic Age and the days of the Roman Empire, to the city's slow decline to the status of Byzantine backwater, this book reveals the evolution of the Agora in hundreds of color and black-and-white illustrations which truly breathe life into the ancient stones and the people who knew them.

The illustrations are sumptuous, and are the true centerpiece of the book. Scores of photographs illustrate the surviving walls and foundations of the Agora's buildings, and careful, clearly-rendered site plans and architectural elevations enable the reader to readily relate disparate elements of the structures and artifacts to their historical and cultural contexts. Accompanying the illustrations is a clear and lucid text which explains the history and the society that the Agora reflected and served.

I heartily recommend this book to those interested in archaeology, classical Greece, the Roman Empire, and urban planning. Echoing Peter Green's review, it's difficult to conceive that this book could have been done any better, and it is unlikely to be superseded for the foreseeable future.

I have had the pleasure of excavating in Greece (as volunteer slave labor). I spent a good deal of time in the Athenian Agora. I felt that I had come to understand a lot of the layout and history of the location. But this book greatly magnified my understanding of what I had seen. For me, it was WONDERFUL to finally get the full story on the site that I thought I knew. The history of the Agora is very rich. This book will bring it to life for you. I'd give it twenty stars if it were possible.

excelent book! great comprehensive collection of the vase shapes, styles, and discussions on the most likely ways they made them and why.

right to the point when you want it, and a historical discussion as well with clay & glaze chemistry details. the summary of shapes all on one page (well, 8 pages!) is inspirational for me. i never saw them presented this way.

step by step photos of constructions.

i can see collectors using this book to understand how the pots were made and used. and i CERTAINLY can use this book to try making vases myself in the "old" style.

find the paperback version to save some $$$

see ya

steve

Athenian Vase Construction: A Potter's Analysis details in a comprehensive, step-by-step fashion the manner in which the major Athenian vases (one of the world's finest ceramic traditions) were made. Photographs of potter from the Getty museum and other collections provide evidential documentation (from the interiors and exteriors of the pots themselves) as to how they were formed and constructed, while line drawings illustrate how the potter worked. Highly recommended for personal, professional, and academic reference collections, Athenian Vase Construction showcases them as painted masterpieces, from their graceful lines and elegant proportions forming an enduring aesthetic of form and beauty that has never been surpassed and rarely equaled in the more than two thousand years since their original creation.

Before I bought a book about roman history I have visually searched through at least 20 books, and this is book of my choice.
I think this is a great book, it has lots of detailed and precise information about roman history. This book has a simple to understand, and easy to navigate layout, which is helps a lot. I like roman history time line, this book has a great photographs, illustrations, and precise artist's renderings. I'm using this book as a reference book for matte paintings that I create, in roman empire times.
Great book to buy!

Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome is an eye-catching summary of ancient Roman geography, history, and visual splendor. Illustrated with full-color photographs of Roman artifacts, architecture, and maps - including reconstructed maps of the city as it must have once stood - grace this amazing reference cover to cover. Since it is a historical atlas, the main focus is on geography and maps, but references to all aspects of Roman culture and its impact on subsequent civilizations abound. The text is accessible for lay readers and spells out the course of Roman history from its rise to its increasingly inevitable fall due to incompetent emperors, a self-serving bureaucracy, and a border far larger than its armies could protect. Highly recommended for library and personal history collections.

I loved this book. It is a fun way for you to understand history at any age. It has cartoons and great jokes. History books are normaly boring, on the other hand this book will make you laugh out loud and roll on the floor.Thats how intertaning it is! Read it and you will adore everything about it!

This books are wonderful. They make learning history fun and cool. It combines jokes, historical facts and funny information in a great easy-to-read package. My 4th grader loves the whole series. Both reluctant readers and history lovers will enjoy the breezy way history is told in these books. Ideal for 3rd-5th graders and even middle school students. Great as gifts or for a classroom. Too bad all history books aren't this fun!

From the back cover: "Pasztory has placed these major works of Pre-Columbian art in a historical context, relating them to the reigns of individual rulers, events in Aztec history, and the needs of different social groups from the elite to the farmer. She focuses on the little-known aspects of the aesthetics, poetry, and humanity of the Aztecs.
In 1984 the book received a Special Citation from the Charles Rufus Morey Book Award Committee of the College Art Association."

A wonderful book; I'd buy another like it in a heartbeat. For Mesoamerican/Aztec cultural arts fans, this is a "must buy" and makes a SUPER gift!

Anyone serious about understanding the Aztec mind and social order should read both "Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos" (K. A. Read) and also, "THE JADE STEPS" by Burr Cartwright Brundage (University of Utah Press; (c)1985; ISBN# 0-87480-247-4). FYI, Dr. Brundage has authored nearly a dozen extraordinarily well written and researched books on Aztec civilization; most are (sadly) tough to find.

When I say this book is totally sweet I mean this book is TOTALLY SWEET!!!! I found this book to be a great introduction to the fascinating civilization of the Aztecs. The text stays vivid and colorful through the skill of the author and with the help of engaging first hand accounts. The pictures add a lot to present a detailed and interesting view of Ancient Aztec civilization. Yeah, this book rocks so hard I put it on my wishlist, even though I already read it.

This is an admirable example of how to introduce non-experts to an ancient culture without being pedantic or boring. In one hundred and fifty pages, Boone gives us a very readable summary of Aztec history, culture, religion, economics, and politics. While she describes the horrors of human sacrifice, she also lets us see the more positive sides of Aztec life, including the glory of Tenochtitlan. She helps us to understand how a small number of Spaniards brought down the empire. The book is well illustrated in color.

Great review of life in Rome. Good pictures. Fun mystery for kids to solve. My girls ages 6 & 8 loved the book, especially the mystery. We have enjoyed Ardagh's History Detectives of Greece and Egypt as well.

This is a easy read, better then Usbourne.
The illusrations are great and covers important figures,
religion, government,science, sports,daily life, arts,
everything. Then it finishes with a mystery for review.
Sure to keep kids and adults interested.

Dr. A. R. George has given the rich post-modern Babylonian Cuneiform scholarly community a standard to be emulated in all ancient text scholarship, especially, the cuneiform tablet textual tradition.

Not only will the reader of this treatise learn mankind's fetish for immortality, male virility, and homoerotic warrior tanist love affairs (Gilgamesh and Enkidu), (s)he will learn the literary, historical and religious traditions that produced and preserved this oldest, long poetical treatise in human written record (40 centuries of production, dissemination and reception). You will also receive the standard insight of the ancient mind into the netherworld and the above-world of gods.

Dr. George has produced a 'masterpiece', if I made use that over-used, vulgar, trite term. But in Dr. George's case, it is more than a truthful attribution. This model scholarship will set the bar very high for future Babylonian cuneiform textual scholars to achieve. Dr. George's industry in ferreting out all the fragments of this Semitic epic composition in their Old Babylonian, Middle Babylonian & Assyrian editions is a feat of labor few scholars are capable of. Not only does he possess the mental power of tenacity, but also the artistic powers of beauty in presentation, love & passion for his field, and an extremely acute intelligence of the highest order. In short, he is a savant!

The price is a mere $564.00 for this brilliant work of scholarship. It is 1,176 pages in two volumes. One would expect to pay more for the publishing feat of reproducing ancient Babylonian cuneiform ligatures in written print on paper. Oxford University Press is to be congratulated for undertaking this great challenge.

If you are a young scholar or student, start saving your money to buy this treatise. It will change your life and ennoble your humanity! You will learn from this ancient corpus that not much has changed in the human condition! We have only learned to be more brutal, lethal and destructive towards our planet and our fellow man, since this great artistic composition was composed.

If you are thinking of pursuing a M.Phil. Degree from Oxford University, Oxford, England in its Babylonian Cuneiform Coarsework, you are blackmailed---you must purchase this learned, scholarly treatise!

John E.D.P. Malin,
Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer
Executive Division
P.O. Drawer 460
Cecilia, Louisiana 70521-0460

Contact: InformaticaMalin@gmail.com

The best edition available. Not cheap, but worth the
price for those interested in the original.