Product Description
Since the first century B.C., the rugged, mountainous region that stretches from the southern edge of the Balkan Peninsula to the western arm of Asia Minor has been at the heart of European civilization, influencing its costume and culture. From ancient Greece to the Byzantium and Ottoman empires, "Greece and Turkey" takes the reader through more than 2,000 years of European costume history. In this volume, you will find out about: life beneath the veil for women in the sultan's palace; why Greek men sometimes wore no clothes at all; how Byzantine spies stole the secret of silk from the Chinese; and, how nationalism and Westernization affected clothing in 19th-century Greece and Turkey. ... Read more

Product Description
Conceived originally as a serious presentation of  the development of philosophy for Catholic  seminary students, Frederick Copleston's nine-volume  A History Of Philosophy has  journeyed far beyond the modest purpose of its author to  universal acclaim as the best history of  philosophy in English.

Copleston, an Oxford Jesuit  of immense erudition who once tangled with A. J.  Ayer in a fabled debate about the existence of God  and the possibility of metaphysics, knew that  seminary students were fed a woefully inadequate diet  of theses and proofs, and that their familiarity  with most of history's great thinkers was reduced  to simplistic caricatures. Copleston set out to  redress the wrong by writing a complete history of  Western philosophy, one crackling with incident and  intellectual excitement -- and one that gives full  place to each thinker, presenting his thought in a  beautifully rounded manner and showing his links  to those who went before and to those who came  after him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

Detailed and Informative
The basic structure of the book is as follows: Frederick Copleston first gives us background by describing the intellectual life of the philosopher in question before proceeding to systematically analyze the various aspects of his thought, often referring, of course, to their major works. For example, the section on Plato is divided into ten parts: "The Life of Plato," "Plato's Works," "Theory of Knowledge," "The Doctrine of Forms," "The Psychology of Plato," "Moral Theory," "The State," "Physics of Plato," "Art," and "The Old Academy." As expected, most of the focus is on Plato and Aristotle, the sections devoted to them accounting for nearly 50% of this 506-page book. Copleston writes in clear and concise prose, occasionally using diagrams for further clarification.

It should be noted that the late Copleston was a Jesuit priest. In this and the other volumes he often juxtaposes his Roman Catholic Thomist view with the philosophies he examines. However, he treats all of them with fairness, sympathy, respect, and sometimes something approaching reverence, especially in the cases of the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle.

As Copleston had Catholic seminary students in mind when he wrote these histories, they assume a working knowledge of Latin and Greek, which are sprinkled throughout the text, mostly untranslated. However, even without any knowledge of these languages, one can still learn quite a bit from this detailed and informative presentation, though it would undoubtedly help to have a philosophical dictionary on hand while reading.

Simple like this
Copleston's History of Philosophy is a masterpiece. It is complete and simple, made for scholars and lay people. Usually it is very difficult to achieve such deep and academic investigation with no room for intricate and technical language. Sometimes the text turns on more complex, because the subject is complex as well. But this did not keep the fresh air of new and understandable knowledge that exists throughout the work.

An Engaging Introduction to Philosophy
Frederick Copleston wrote his A History of Philosophy with the original intent of instructing Catholic seminarians on the progress of philosophy through the ages.The nine volume work has gone onto wide acclaim and is heralded as one of the best on the topic of philosophical history.

This book is the first of the nine volume work and covers Western philosophy from its early beginnings on the Greek islands and onto the rest of the Mediterranean world, expanding into Egypt, Israel, and the Roman Empire.

Copleston divides the book into five sections: The Pre-Socratics, The Socratic Period, Plato, Aristotle, and the Post-Aristotelians.The vast majority of the book revolves around the three great classical philosophers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.The author excels at noting that none of these philosophers was greater than the other, nor did they effectively cancel out each other, but rather built upon existing philosophy.Aristotle, while different in his philosophy, was both an admirer and critic of Plato.Copleston also succeeds in clarifying the philosophies of the Pre-Socratics, whose past can easily be overlooked by the magnitude of Socrates.In A History of Philosophy, the Pre-Socratics are equally as important as the next, each bearing importance to subsequent philosophy.The book is tied together by the referencing of philosophers back and forth throughout.

Some minor criticisms are in relation to the author's intent.Obviously, he would have changed the approach had he known the work would go onto greater things.The most obvious downfall of the book is that large sections of text are written in Greek and Latin.For the average Catholic seminarian, this would be no problem.For the layman, it is a challenge.The footnotes are in relation to sources and none of them offer translations.What is especially aggravating is that Copleston identifies specific terms that are key to understanding a philosophy, many written in Greek and never translated.Many of Aristotle's points were lost on me, since they were written in Greek.This could easily be fixed by a revised edition, providing footnotes and chapter references at the back of the book.One other criticism is the fact that Copleston inserts his own opinions of modern philosophers within the text.This detracts from the non-biased approach that philosophical history should be approached with.He succeeds in noting the successes and failures in philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, yet criticizes Nietsche and other modernists at the same time.Perhaps the smugness that accompanies his criticisms is due to the fact that many modernists were atheists, and he was writing for a non-atheist audience.

Overall, this book is a great introduction to philosophy and is a good springboard for further investigating the philosophers you find interesting.

The BEST History of Philosophy
I would like to say that Mr.Copleston did a great job writing his masterpiece. I am wondering how many years did it take him to read all the original works and write this set? I would like to emphasize that this history of philosophy does not have any undertone of any bias, and all accusations of the lack of impartiality do not have any basis. Frederick Copleston explicitly states that he is the Jesuit priest and the third volume of the set is his favorite. So what? Other volumes are not affected by this circumstance. Coplestone accurately describes the lives and theories of major philosophers. It should be noted that this set is a rather dry reading and beginners should find some other history of philosophy (like Russel's History of Western Philosophy, but be aware Russel's version is "slightly" biased). Back to Copleston's History: the book examines the history of philosophy from pre-Socratics to Aristotle(with concentrating on Socrates-Plato-Aristotle) to "footnotes":)
I recommend this book and the whole set to serious students of philosophy and other lesser mortals who want to understand the development and evolution of the Western philosophical thinking.

The academic standard, and undefeated champion
I originally picked up this book with the best of intentions: to read all nine (or eleven) volumes, in belated "revenge" for not having majored in philosophy.Those intentions are now being stretched over a longer period of time.

I have no doubt that this is the "academic standard" in the history of philosophy.You can tell, because Father Copleston makes a habit of citing foreign languages without translation.This used to be (and still may be) the distinguishing mark of an academic: just put it down in French, German, Latin, or Greek, and if the unwashed masses don't get it, tough.In particular, I would highly recommend that you learn the Greek alphabet before embarking on this adventure.Not the Greek language, mind you, but just enough of the alphabet to spell out all the Greek words which Copleston throws at you.

The book is a major accomplishment; the fruit of a titanic intellectual effort.Still, there is competition in this rather small niche, most obviously Bertrand Russell's "History of Western Philosophy" (in one volume!) and Anthony Gottlieb's "The Dream of Reason."Quite frankly, for readers who are not professional philosophers (or students of philosophy) I might recommend one of those two books.Bertrand Russell's book gives you a bonus, in including huge swathes of real history to put his philosophical history in context, while Gottlieb is smart, diverting, and original.

Father Copleston (a Jesuit) is smart as a tack, but had no intention of being diverting or original.It is really an advantage that Copleston's bias is openly declared: he is a Catholic who holds that the true philosophy is the Scholastic philosophy of the Middle Ages --- properly modernized, of course.So you won't expect him to dwell on people like Pseudo-Dionysius.And his essay on Plato's "Doctrine of the Forms" is, indeed, a major intellectual undertaking.It is so good that the acute reader can spot Plato's errors all over the place, such as Plato's assumption that the only real knowledge was of things that are eternally true and unchanging.That, if you stop to think about it, is a whale of an assumption. To take a trivial example, we all generalize from the frogs we have seen to an "Ideal Frog" --- it's part of recognizing reality.But it really plays havoc when we try to understand evolution, and must realize that there is no "Ideal Frog," or recognize that the "Ideal Frog" is constantly changing, over a period of time which we may not be able to comprehend.So Plato made it hard for humankind to understand evolution.

And then, later on, in the chapter on "The State," you understand it when Copleston enthusiastically joins Plato's demands for censorship of the arts, and the rule of the Philosopher-King.After all, I am not the first person to have seen the Catholic Index of Prohibited Books --- and the Papacy --- as attempts to bring Plato's ideas about the state to fruition.

I guess, in the end, I would like to describe a choice for the reader who is interested in the history of philosophy.

Choice A would be Lord Bertie, who squeezes it all into one magisterial volume: A History of Western Philosophy.

Choice B would be Anthony Gottlieb:The Dream of Reason: A History of Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance.The drawback here is that Gottlieb is only half-done.

Choice C would be to go whole hog and get the entire set by Copleston.You are not required to read every word, but the whole vast and detailed panorama is at your fingertips.If you're on a budget, you could always buy one volume a month, or something like that.:-)

Good luck, and happy reading! ... Read more

Product Description
This book explores the role of written and oral communication in Greece and is the first systematic and sustained treatment at this level. It examines the recent theoretical debates about literacy and orality and explores the uses of writing and oral communication, and their interaction, in ancient Greece. It sets the significance of written and oral communication as much as possible in their social and historical context, and stresses the specifically Greek characteristics in their use. It draws together the results of recent studies and suggests further avenues of inquiry. All ancient evidence is translated. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a collection of reports from British liaison officers operating in Greece 1943-44. They are historically important both for the information they contain and because they express the views of British officers sent into occupied Greece with considerable responsibilities. ... Read more

Product Description
This handy reference provides comprehensive access to over three millennia of ancient Greek history and archaeology, from the beginning of the Minoan civilization to the fall of the Greek states to the Romans by 30 BC.Clear, authoritative, and highly organized, the Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece provides an engaging look at a civilization that once stretched from what is now modern Greece, to Spain, India, and beyond; a civilization that has had an enormous and lasting influence on the development of myriad aspects of Western culture, from philosophy and medicine to democracy and town planning.

The thematically arranged chapters cover an exhaustive range of topics: armies and weapons, rulers from Alexander the Great to Xerxes, the rise and fall of numerous city-states, notably Sparta and Athens, agriculture, architectural styles, craft industries, religious festivals, deities, travel and transport, mythological figures, even Greek concepts of the afterlife. The guide includes a wide-ranging bibliography for each chapter, as well as over 180 maps, photographs, and line drawings.

Combining both archaeological and historical evidence, the Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece is essential reading for anyone interested in Greek history, the classics, or an overview of the Greek period. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A Great Introductory Book To Ancient Greece.
Lesley and Roy Adkins' book on Greek civilization is a thourough categorical text covering everything from political institutions to fashion. The book also has extensive photographs and illustrations detailing countless subjects such as military formations and equipment, city plans and development, architecture, etc., etc. For a general reference guide, it's the most exhaustive, detailed, and accurate text I have ever found. A perfect book that can be easily used by adults or children, and teachers or students.A perfect classroom textbook for high school or general education-level college students.

If you are just beginning to learn about Greek civilization, I strongly recommend this book above all other introductory texts: there's simply no comparison! As you learn more of the basic information, the book has an excellent bibliography and reference guide to authoritative books or academic texts that focus on a specific area. This book is truly one of the best investments one can make in the study of Ancient Greece.

Nice
This is an excellent overview of all major aspects of Ancient Greece.It is divided under a logical thematic scheme.There are plenty of pictures, illustrations, maps and chronologies to aid in conveying data.Each section has a bibliography for suggestions on where to delve deeper for more information.

As a general introduction and quick reference, it can't be beat.Those wanting a deeper layer of detail will have to consult the books in the suggested bibliographies. This book was meant to be an affordable survey for the general reader, and in that scheme it does pretty well.If you read this along with the counterpart "Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome" you'll have a nice command of classical society. Highly suggested for high school students amd undergraduates.

Good overall reference book
The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with a overview (and comprehensive at that) of the Greeks up to the ascension ofAugustus in Rome. In this the book suceeds. The information included is well rounded despite its relative briefness and has been validated by recent scholarship. Topics range from city planning to civic calenders. Biographies of famous (and not so famous) people are also included in each section. Included are drawings and plans of architecture as well as maps and photos of ruins.

Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)
In his Preface to 'The Genius of Alexander the Great,' 1997, NGL Hammondstates:

'The narratives which survive were written between three and fivecenturies after Alexander's career, and their portrayals of Alexander varywidely not only in what might be regarded as matters of fact but also ininterpretations of Alexander's personality. The latter range fromintellectual brilliance and statesmanlike vision to unbridled lust forconquest and drunken debauchery. The temptation for modern writers is topick and choose from these narratives what suits his own conception ofAlexander's personality...' Lesley and Roy Adkins have taken it uponthemselves to judge Alexander a murderer and self-appointed god.

Hammondalso says, 'In 1980 when I published a book on Alexander I wrote that myaim was "to state most of the evidence and bring the reader into thetask of evaluation." Thus, to take as an example the Battle of theGranicus, I reported the incompatible versions of the ancient writers(Diodorus, Plutarch and Arrian in particular), added some topographicaldetails, and put forward my reconstruction, which rested on my ownevaluation of the worth of the rival accounts. The reader was therebyequipped to make his own assessment of what actually happened, and he wasenabled to carry his study further by consulting the works of otherscholars to which reference was provided. Thus it was a work designed toprovoke inquiry into and estimation of Alexander's achievements.'

The'Handbook' is clearly designed the other way round, to flatly assert'facts' where the quest is more powerful than ever, now that we have moderntechnology and scholarship; and worse, the 'Handbook' is designed to beused regularly by students. Worst of all, perhaps, is that such scholars asthe Adkins must know what they are doing, as well as their publisher, nodoubt!

So they have to contradict themselves in places, as for example inthe statistical description of Alexander's army, they have to admit that'No work of contemporary authors has survived to provide information aboutthe army of Alexander.' This does not stop them from judging Alexanderelsewhere as though their opinion were fact.

This is important because itis reported by many historians, including S. Price, for example, in 'Greeceand The Hellenistic World' (Oxford University Press, 1986) that Alexanderspread democracy. That the cities he founded continued to assert thedesirability of democracy against a tyranny or an oligarchy. Thisdemocratic impulse can logically be understood as a liberating force thatdefined the Hellenistic legacy and continues today. It was so controversialand fought over that the sources are charged with the political atmosphereof their day. If you check the 'Handbook' in its index under democracy youwill find that the subject is given the once over lightly. This isirresponsible when it comes to our Greek heritage.

One more quote fromHammond's preface (my parentheses). 'To take an example, it may be moreattractive to attribute the burning of the palace (of Darius) at Persepolisto an act of drunken vandalism by an Athenian prostitute and an inebriatedking (Alexander) than to a deliberate decision of policy.' A policy, Imight add, that could well be reflected in the fact that Alexanderdesignated no 'heir' and even the generals who fought over the land afterhis death delayed quite a while, it seems, before declaring themselveskings (or gods as in Ptolemy's case, who wrote one of the lost sourcebiographies of Alexander).

Not that I agree with Hammond everywhere inhis personal evaluations, but he demonstrates the kind of scholarlyintegrity that puts the likes of this 'Handbook' and other such referencesthese days to shame. So in spite of the detail the Adkins provide, it is soundermined by their assumptions that I can only warn the buyer with astar.

The 'Handbook' presents the Greek legacy as basically royalist and,without giving the other side, debases the Greeks and our common heritagewith important assumptions presented as facts.

Not Light Reading
I really hoped to have a book that would convey to me how it was and how it felt to live in Ancient Greece. I guess that all of the necessary information is there, but it is not presented in any cogent way. ... Read more

Product Description
List of Illustrations ivPreface vMap of Classical Greece vii1. Definitions and Problems: Chattel Slaves, 1Serfs, and the Concept of a Slave-Society2. The Development of Chattel Slavery: From 10Homer to Solon3. Community Slaves or Serfs: the Spartan 22Helots and Others4. Slaves in Classical Athens: Numbers, 34and Economic Functions5. Slaves in Classical Athens: Treatment and 58and Hopes of Freedom6. Resistance, Flight and Revolt 797. Justifications: Barbarians and Natural Slaves 868. Associated Ideologies: Work, Leisure and Sex 99Suggestions for Further Study 109Suggestions for Further Reading 111Glossary 119 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Superb...and eminently readable!
This is one of the best books I have ever read on slavery in antiquity.Many books on slavery in ancient Greece and Rome are almost prudish in their approach to the issue.But in order to convey the true nature (and horror) of slavery, no scholarly work can ignore such aspects of slavery as sexual mores or physical violence.Vague references simply will not do.

This book digs right into the nitty-gritty of everyday slave life.Although it's a very short work, the author manages to convey the most amazing details of slave life -- right down to the kind of undergarments a slave might be permitted to wear.Unlike some works, which never really explain how slaves could rise to positions of great power and prestige and still remain slaves, this volume does so and makes it seems reasonable.

The book also places slavery in context as well.That's something missing in most other works on slavery in ancient Europe and the Middle East.The sections on Spartan slavery and how it meshed nearly seamlessly with Spartan attitudes on the upbringing of young males (especially the length passages on the "crypteia") really make history come alive.

I can't say enough good things about this book.Its superb reliance on primary sources, its terrific critical analysis of modern scholarly works, its heavy contextualization of slavery and slave-owning, its crisp and elegant writing, its no-nonsense and fact-based approach to sensitive topics:It is everything I wanted from a book about this important topic. ... Read more

Product Description
During the decade of the 1940s Greece experienced harsh German/Italian/Bulgarian occupation, the emergence of a powerful resistance movement and civil war between communist and nationalists. This critical period in the country's modern history is graphically illustrated through contemporary documents, many of them translated from Greek, many of them difficult to access. This annotated documentary collection, which is prefaced by a substantial introduction, affords a penetrating insight into the history of the 1940s from a variety of perspectives.
... Read more

Product Description
The Hellenistic World examines social changes in the old and new cities of the Greek world and in the new post-Alexandrian kingdoms.

It forms an up-to-date appraisal of the momentous military and political changes after the era of Alexander. It also considers developments in literature, religion, philosophy, and science and establishes how far they are presented as radical departures from the culture of Classical Greece or were continuous developments from it. Finally, Graham Shipley explores the culture of the Hellenistic world in the context of the social divisions between an educated elite and a general population at once more mobile and less involved in the political life of the Greek city. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

good job, shipley!
while the market is full of excellent treatments of archaic and classical greek history, hellenistic history has been a difficult and hairy part of history, at least from a scholarly point of view. treatments like f. w. walbank's "the hellenistic world" have attempted to map the history of the eastern mediterranean from the death of alexander the great in 323 BC to the battle of actium, but not until shipley's "the greek world 323-30 BC" has this been fully realized. hellenistic history has traditionally dealt with concubines, consorts, murders, incest and conspiracies. shipley's treatment illustrates with great clarity that the hellenistic period was not a soap opera at all.

this volume is of fundamental importance to any student of hellenistic history. it is both in-depth and easy-going. both a more advanced student and a beginner will benefit from reading this book, and I recommend it whole-heartedly. the chapters on ptolemaic egypt and the seleucid empire are particularly good. good job, shipley!

In-depth on Hellenistic history, not a good intro, however
I got this book from the remainders section at my local bookstore. It illuminates a neglected period of ancient history, that is often seen as a period of decline, even though it produced some of the pinnacles of Greek thought like Euclid.

Shipley writes for a scholarly audience, and it shows. The book's exposition is somewhat muddled and does not follow a progressive plan. For instance, many references are made to the role of Pergamon early in the book, and explained only far later in the (relatively short) chapter on the Seleukids and Pergamon. The maps are interspersed seemingly at random with the text, and none of them shows the boundaries or zones of influence of the competing hellenistic kingdoms. Making the most of this book will require at least two readings.

As such, I don't recommend this book as a first introduction to the subject, as there is a tendency to lose track of the forest for the tree. It is excellent for its in-depth survey of the field, and its highly annotated bibliographic references (as befits a scholarly work).

An Excellent Introduction to the Hellenistic World
Graham Shipley has written an excellent book for students and others encountering the Hellenistic age (the three tumultous centures between Alexander's death and Octavian's victory at Actium) for the first time.Broadly there are two ways of looking at the history of Eastern mediterranean in this period.One is the `degeneration' framework which sees this period in general terms as a sad falling-off from the classical apogee of Greek achievement.The other is that which sees this as a period of rapid change when the civilization of near east and western mediterranean were drawn together through the rubric provided by the Hellenistic culture.This book falls firmlyin the second group.An important aspect is that this book eschews the functionalist approach.Indeed the author warns through out against anachronisms and retrojecting analysis derived from the experience ofmodern capitalism,Imperialisam or christian descourse to understand the period. The book opens with a chapter revewing the approaches and sources and next traces Alexander and his successors to 276 BCE.The next chapter is a important one on kings and cities and examines the consequeness of the political changes of the period 338 - 276 for the old city states and details the ways which Citiesand Kingsfound of co existing.It questions the received wisdom that the polis met its end at Chaironeia in 338 and shows how the Ptolemaic and Antigouid power relied on keeping cities contented. There are chapters on Macedonia and Greece, the Seleukid Kindom and Pergamon and Ptolemaic Egypt.These are comprehensive and the chapter on Ptolemaic Egypt draws a lot on papyrological evidence and re examines the conclusions reached by conventional wisdom on Ptolemaic Egypt viz that it had a highly interventionist administration or had a very bereaucratic and rational stateeconomy .It also guards against temptations to interpret difficulties in late Ptolemaic Egypt in context of reinterpretation of 20th Century empire by Said and others as a result of `native resistance'. Other chapters are on religion and philosophy, literature and social identity and on Greek'Science' after Aristotle.The book concludes with the coming of the colossus of north - Rome. The book has large number of maps and line diagrams and the text is supported by copious amount of notes and bibliography (150 pages to 400 of text) Overall the approach is refreshingly non-judgemental and allows the diversity of cultures, social forms, and landscapes to emerge.The important topic of Religion and Philosophy though is very summarily treated but that is a minor quibble.It's other competitiors in this fieldviz Peter Greens `Alexander to Actium - The historical evolution of theHellenustic Age' falls firmly in the `degenerate' camp and doesn't take into account the recent scholarship.The `Hellenstic World' by F.W. Walbank is dated. All in all this book will be a standard introduction to the Hellenistic Age for quite some time to come. ... Read more

Product Description
The Illustrated History of the World is a lavishly illustrated edition of J. M. Roberts's bestselling History of the World. Now completely revised and updated, each volume of this comprehensive reference work traces the tumultuous story of humankind from prehistory to the end of the 20th century. The rise and fall of civilizations; the impact of powerful individuals on world events; the interplay of state and religion; the social and economic factors that influence societies--these are some of the themes of this masterful, sweeping narrative. Over 2,000 photographs in color and black-and-white present a unique visual panoply of the march of history. In addition, more than 200 maps and artworks in full color underscore important events. Fully integrated sidebars and feature boxes narrow in on key themes, providing an additional layer of interest. Each volume also contains a double-page, illustrated chronology of major events, plus a bibliography and detailed index. Authoritative, brilliantly written, and superbly illustrated, this outstanding and popular work of scholarship makes the whole sweep of history vivid and accessible as never before. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A nice addition to a wonderful series
This book is the second volume in the wonderful Illustrated History of the World Series. This one quickly covers the ancient world up to the rise of the Persian Empire. After that, the book launches into a wonderful, in-depth look at ancient Greece from earliest history to the Hellenic Empire. Along the way, the reader is treated to many colorful maps and pictures, and interesting sidebars.

This book is very good, and a nice addition to a wonderful series. I found the book to be very informative and quite interesting. Overall, I liked the book, and highly recommend it as an introduction to Classical Greece.

Well-Written and Beautifully Illustrated Introduction
This is volume two of a ten volume series called The Illustrated History of the World. The first volume covered the origins of the human race through the first civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. This second volume in the series is in two parts. The first part reviews the early cultures of India and China and the second part moves on to discuss Greek civilization. Each part stands alone being a section of the ten-volume work, and are included together just to make up a book-length unit.

The book is filled with beautiful color illustrations. Every page has at least one and most are photographs of artifacts, art works, or scenes. The text is well written and emphasizes broad summaries rather than scholarly examination. This makes it a good basic introduction and outline, but may be less useful to someone who wants to look at these subjects in greater depth. The lack of any bibliography of further readings is also a drawback for those wanting to seek more information. A two-page time chart of the period helps to put events in perspective. The chapter contents are confusingly placed at the end of the book, but they are well done and helpful for getting an overview of the author's approach. A two page listing of all the books in the series with their section and chapter titles helps to put the material into the broader view of all world history.

The type face is large and the lines are amply spaced. Couple this with the copious illustrations and the book is actually a very quick read for its size and length. It is a few steps above the approach of Dorling Kindersley books that are predominately illustrations with supporting text. With Roberts, the text is the major part, but the illustrations are definitely more than an after thought. This is a good introduction for the general reader. It is not going to be a lasting reference book that you will turn to again and again. Read it once and move on. ... Read more

Product Description
Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.

Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include


* customs, values, and traditions
* historical, religious, and political background
* life at home
* leisure, social, and cultural life
* eating and drinking
* do's, don'ts, and taboos
* business practices
* communication, spoken and unspoken


"Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel

"... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel

"...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer

"...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine

"...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

s'ok
I was hoping for something a litte more in-depth and detailed, but over-all this was a good intro book. ... Read more

Product Description

Greece in the Making 1200–479 BC is an accessible and comprehensive account of Greek history from the end of the Bronze Age to the Classical Period. The first edition of this book broke new ground by acknowledging that, barring a small number of archaic poems and inscriptions, the majority of our literary evidence for archaic Greece reported only what later writers wanted to tell, and so was subject to systematic selection and distortion. This book offers a narrative which acknowledges the later traditions, as traditions, but insists that we must primarily confront the contemporary evidence, which is in large part archaeological and art historical, and must make sense of it in its own terms.

In this second edition, as well as updating the text to take account of recent scholarship and re-ordering, Robin Osborne has addressed more explicitly the weaknesses and unsustainable interpretations which the first edition chose merely to pass over. He now spells out why this book features no ‘rise of the polis’ and no ‘colonization’, and why the treatment of Greek settlement abroad is necessarily spread over various chapters. Students and teachers alike will particularly appreciate the enhanced discussion of economic history and the more systematic treatment of issues of gender and sexuality.

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Introduction
Robin Osborne's Greece in the Making is a generally excellent, albeit somewhat advanced, introduction to Greek history.The book is well written and clearly organized, but I would caution that it might be a bit difficult and off-putting for those without a basic knowledge of the subject matter.A few topics are introduced in a manner that suggests Osborne believes his readers already know what he is talking about.

There are also some lengthy charts on matters such as when coinage was introduced in various cities which make the book slow going at places.On the positive side there are plenty of maps, photos and excerpts from literary works and inscriptions.

A good introduction
A good introduction to the Greek world. I like the balance between detail and general views of the making of the Greek culture. Maybe a different organization of the book would have helped, but at the end it is more a matter of taste if the info is there and is delivered clearly. ... Read more

Product Description
See-through cutaways, featuring acetate layers that can be peeled back to move from outside to inside structures, mark a colorful journey through the wonders of daily life in ancient Greece, showing typical houses, warships, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Experience Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is an excellent, readable book for Grades 4-7. The "See Through" windows added an interesting dimension (pun intended) to the book.Lots of good pictures and text that give children a clear understanding of Ancient Greece with out being overwhelming with minute bits of data. ... Read more

Product Description
Organized chronologically, this text presents a complete picture of Greek civilization as a history and features sections on the art, architecture, literature, and thought of each period. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An intelligent and engaging textbook
Textbooks have, deservedly, a bad reputation.Morris and Powell have written a textbook that is also a pleasure to read.This truly fine book covers the full range of material, but with style and flair.It is also well illustrated and makes very effective use of original source material.And their use of what they call "the Greek problem" -- how to organize social life "withough God or gods to reveal" a pattern -- is extremely effective.There are a number of good overview introductory books out there on the Greeks, but none better.The only drawback is a fairly hefty pricetag. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

THE CONTINUATION OF AN INFLUENTIAL (BUT UNFINISHED) PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY
Eric Voegelin (1901-1985) is one of the most well-known of modern political philosophers and theorists, but his massive five-volume series "Order and History," as well as the posthumously published eight-volume History of Political Ideas (Volume 8): Crisis and the Apocalypse of Man (Collected Works of Eric Voegelin, Volume 26), put forward a coherent and somewhat influential philosophy of history.In the Preface to Volume II, Voegelin says, "Order and History is a philosophical inquiry concerning the principal types of order of human existence in society and history as well as the corresponding symbolic forms."

Volume II is in three parts: "Cretans, Achaeans, and Hellenes"; "From Myth to Philosophy"; and "The Athenian Century."In the Preface to Volume III, Voegelin summarized the second volume thusly: "In the Aegean area emerged, from the stratum of order in cosmological form, the Hellenic polis with the symbolic form of philosophy.The study of Polis and Philosophy matches ... the earlier one on Israel and Revelation.Because of its size this second study had to be divided into the present Volumes II ... and III...."

Here are some representative quotations from the second volume:

"The primary field of order is the single society of human beings, organized for action to maintain itself in existence."
A philosophy of history "must be a critical study of the authoritative structure in the history of mankind."
"Our study of The World of the Polis opened with reflections on the delimitation of Greek history through the memory of the classic period."
"The world of the historian is an open field of experience for the inquirer, a manifold of peoples and civilizations with different Nomoi, and especially with different gods; and in this world a struggle for power is going on, between man and man, ruler and subject, nation and nation, motivated by fear and greed, by passion and hope.Such a world threatens to fall apart into individual and national centers of power, rising and falling without a discernible meaning.We shall see how the historians try to preserve the sense of common drama in a world without gods by expressing it in philosophical categories..."

Read my reviews of the subsequent volumes to see how Voegelin's project changed over the successive volumes.)

... Read more

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Aspects of Greek History offers an indispensable introduction to the central period of Greek History for all students of classics. Chapter by chapter, the relevant historical periods from the age of colonization to Alexander the Great are reconstructed. Emphasis is laid on the interpretation of the available sources, and the book sets out to give a clear treatment of all the major problems within a chronological framework.
The book covers:

• the main literary sources: Aristotle, Diodorus, Herodotus, Plutarch, Thucydides and Xenophon
• Greek political and military history from the eighth century to Alexander's conquest of Persia.

To ease understanding, the book also includes maps, a glossary of Greek terms and a full bibliography.

Customer Reviews (3)

Certainly not a two and a half!
This book is amazingly useful, providing both lovingly picked primary sources and commentary to help with understanding.It's the kind of text which is useful for a wide variety of topics, giving you real information.I highly recommend it, and so did my lecturers.

Unfair Review
I think that the review posted for this book is exceedingly unfair. What Buckley tries to do is clear away some of the hypocrisy that has surrounded modern writing about ancient history. For generations books have been written by regurgitating the narratives of a few primary sources: Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, et al. Buckley puts this process in the foreground and allows teachers to amplify and to correct by appealing to inscriptions, coins, less "privileged" narratives and so forth. This is a dynamic text, which is really alone in a sea of pompous writers who aspire to the true account of what "actually happened" and don't want to let students in on the process. I fully intend to use this text in a course surveying Greek history. Everyone gets some details wrong, but I admire the basic honesty of this text.

An example of an uncritical and sloppy approach
To support the title, I'll take as an example only one chapter of Mr Buckley's book:The age of Greek Tyranny:c.650-510(page 47). First, the term "Age of Tyranny" as above is at least unfortunate.The authorastounds everyone by such an unfounded allegation, since it is well knownthat tyrannies exist from their inception throughout Greek history. Second,at page 47 he defines a tyrant 'as someone who had seiged powerunconstitutionally', thus implying that the cities where tyrants took overhad pre-existing constitutions, which is untrue. Third, in his section"Feidon of Argos" at page 55 he alleges that "theChalcidians were the best in pre-hoplite fighting", whereas it is wellknown that Chalkis' strength lay on its horsemen, as it is reported in theexpedition of 508 BC in the topic of Cleisthenes and the war of theAthenians against the Spartan alliance. I only chose these three points toillustrate and state further that I would never have recommended this bookto my A-level Ancient History students. ... Read more

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Alexander the Great was one of the most brilliant generals the world has ever known. His campaigns includedthe conquest of the ancient Persian Empire, which lifted his Macedonian kingdom from the level of city-state and onto the world stage. This book provides a fascinating insight into his military achievements. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Synopsis of History's Greatest General

All in all, this book is very well written.The author, Waldemar Heckel, does a great job of condensing a large amount of history into less than a hundred pages.

He starts with a fairly complete history of the Greek and Persian wars.He continues with the rise of Macedon and the unification of the Greek peninsula.The author then discusses the ascension of Alexander after the assassination of his father, Phillip II.Amazingly, all this history is completed in the first third of the book.

The majority of the book is focused on Alexander's war against the Persians.In the end, Alexander's campaigns led to the death of Darius III and the destruction of his empire.Unfortunately, the book only contains two battle maps; one each for the battles of Issus and Hydaspes. The text, however, does cover the engagements at Granicus and Gaugamela.

As with all Osprey publications, this book if full of color paintings, campaign maps, and photographs of ancient ruins.The photos and paintings are relevant to the text.They definitely help the reader visualize the events and geography being discussed.

The author finishes the book with an excellent post campaign overview.One chapter deals solely with the death of Alexander.The chapter on "The World Around War" focuses on India and the growing conflict between Rome and Carthage.After Alexander's death, several Greek nobles fought over the remains of his empire in the war of the successors.

Bottom line:This book is both entertaining and easy to read.The author organized his narrative in good chronologic order.The material is condensed to the most relevant parts and everything is supported by graphic photos and paintings.The reader will walk away with a nice understanding of one of the world's greatest military commanders.

For the new fan of Alex, give this book a try...
I really enjoyed this little morsel of history, so much so that I tried another another book from the Essential Histories series when reading on another topic.

Before mentioning the good/bad about the book I should say that I'm not typically a reader of history and I had little or no knowledge of ancient Greece.

What pleased me most about the book was that the first chapter or two set the scene for Alexander's conquests by talking about his father, the Macedonian Kingdom, and its relationship to the Greek states--this seemed lacking in many of the academics' books; likewise, the end of the book touches on what followed the power vacuum left by his death. at 90 pages it's a good quick read generally covering the course of Alexander's eastward journey, without going to much into the specifics of each military campaign. the pages are peppered with treats that make the book a fun read: anecdotes displaying Alexander's personality, short excerpts from original sources like Arrian and Plutarch, pictures and diagrams to understand battles, you name it. I also appreciated that the author was not totally flattering in recounting Alexander's doings (nobody's perfect).

The only downside for me was that I wanted a little more depth than this book offered. so I read this one alongside a lengthier history (Hamilton's Genius of Alexander the Great). but as someone who doesn't typically read history, I'm not sure I really needed the play-by-play for each battle anyway.

For the new fan of Alexander, give this book a try and then decide if you need to get more elsewhere. ... Read more

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Following Egypt, Tudors, Victorians and Vikings, here is another title in the accessible "History in a Hurry" series. ... Read more

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Beginning with Homer and ending in late antiquity with Christian and pagan reflections on divine and human order, this volume is the first general and comprehensive treatment of Rome ever to be published in English. Its international team of distinguished scholars includes historians of law, politics, culture and religion, as well as philosophers. The volume will long remain an accessible and authoritative guide to Greek and Roman thinking about government and community. ... Read more