The New Penguin Atlas of Ancient History

This is the thrird copy I have bought as I keep giving mine away to friends, also interested in this. It is a great way to tie in the many aspects of individual local histories on my travels. For instance, how else do you work out what was happening in Filitosa, Corsica when they were carving their menhirs with, say where the 'Sea People' were coming from?. Or , if as we did, visit the early bronze age site near Cheng Du, wonder what was happening in Mesopotamia at the same time - who won the race? (Mesopotamia - the Chinese did not even have to go through the dangerous arsenical bronze period even!). This is the book that will tell you and make you chuckle at the same time.

As a first book on ancient civilisations i don't think this can be beaten, especially if, like me, you love maps. A very enjoyable, and pretty quick read.

Detailed, fascinating, good information...clear, concise, well done...

ECELLENT, IN FACT THIS IS MY SECOND COPY

Excellent

This is one of those books that really helps the reader understand how events affect our present.

No problem with delivery or seller. Like other customers I find the book very informative for my needs. BUT type face exceedingly small. As it's a Penguin publication, I thought they would have got the hang of it after all these years. Wake up guys. Not much point publishing something people can't read without a magnifying glass.

This book has been criticised for not being something else. If you want an in-depth history of the Egyptians, Hittites, Indo-Europeans or Romans, look elsewhere. This is a history of Europe as a whole (which includes the Near-East and North Africa) over a long period of time. For anyone who wants to understand the transition of the region AS A WHOLE from prehistory to history, it is excellent and almost unique.It's not quite as good as its  Medieval counterpart , but it's splendid nonetheless. It starts in the Ice Age and ends in 362AD, with Emperor Julian about to lead his legions against the Persians and with the Huns in Kazakhstan, looming ominously. It overlaps with the Medieval book, but should have overlapped a bit more in order to show the end of the classical world.There are printing errors - a missed character on one map; Ireland disappearing briefly at the end of the Ice Age - but the story of the creation of our world is well told with McEvedy's trademark deftness and wit. Where else would the non-specialist learn about Sargon of Akkad, the Seleucids and the Tocharians - not to mention the linguistic development that made nearly every language from the Orkneys to the Indus related to each other?This is a light, easy read that can be dipped into at any time for an easy, broad introduction to early history. Recommended.

This revised edition is lengthier than the original (which I also own), with 30 more pages. The maps have been redrawn, and the printing is on higher quality paper. The accompanying text explains the transitions between each map. No historical atlas will satisfy everyone, but it is a useful resource.

Very informative. The style of writing and the format is excellent. I studied a time period/map every morning before I went to work.

I purchased this and the Atlas of Medieval History, expecting them to be dry but useful reference material. What I didn't expect is that the writing is really excellent and I've found myself reading both books cover to cover. They really capture what was happening and tie it all together into a compelling narrative, supported by a range of useful maps on different topics that support the writing.

Mapas sinopticos de la Historia Antigua. Buenos resúmenes en idioma inglés; quizá la letra un poco pequeña. Excelente complemento para los libros, o series de televisión, de ámbito histórico o como repaso de la Historia Antigua.

molte mappe di vario interesse (popolazione, lingue, alfabeti, città, commerci). Per il periodo degli imperi antichi (centrale quello Romano) molto bello avere mappe intervallate di pochi anni in modo da poter seguire i cambiamenti dei confini degli imperi e delle nazioni