Ancient World (Usborne World History)

We used this book for our ancient history study for homeschool. It is not listed as a resource for TOG but we used it for lower grammar level resource, especially those weeks that didn't have any resources listed. It has great info on Hittites, Phoenicians, etc. which can be hard to find for this age level. It was easy reading for my 3rd grade son and my 6 year old was able to listen along.

At first glance, it seemed an overly brief and cursory overview of ancient civilization as it only spends a couple of pages per civilization and/or empire. My son who is in second grade, on the other hand, really enjoyed it and wanted to read it multiple times. All in all, it is a great book for getting started on the topic and will encourage further exploration in depth by supplementing with other substantial books and/or DVDs on each ancient civilization/ empire.

We use this book in conjunction with My Father's World Creation to the Greeks curriculum. I already owned the thicker, larger, more comprehensive "Ancient World" from Usborne and thought we would just use that in this book's place, but found it was not as child-friendly and easy to read. The difference was enough to lead me to purchase this version. It has been a great addition for us, giving us just enough information for the subjects we are covering when used in conjunction with other resources. If we want to know even more, then we can move on to the larger text (my 12 year old is inclined to do this). Otherwise, this book is perfect for our needs.

The best part in the book is where the activity of the first farmers living in the area situated in the basins of the Euphrates,Tigris and the adjacent regions is discribed.The author describes several civilizations(the Chinese,the Roman etc.),nevertheless states that the cradle of the civilization of all humans is the area Breasted named in 1970s 'the Fertile Crescent'.This and other archaeological jargon might be avoided and the idea might be rendered in simpler terms.The first pages are lavishly illustrated with very pleasent and informative paintings for which thanks are due to the illustrators.I as a reader would prefer if a scene,say,of farming were depicted on the frontpage instead of the gloomy and sad lamenting women and a dead man in a sarcophagus.Again in the book itself there is talk about skulls that 'probably'were displayed in the rooms of the living persons in the IV millenium BCE,that when somebody died in what is now called Chatal Huyuk,the bodies were left to rot.The beautiful painting of the temple in Ur is accompanied with a commentary that the ziggurat is a platform of that building,while it is the high building itself,the word being actively used by modern Kartuels in everyday speach.Tsikhura is the correct word and tsikhe is a synonym.Talk about Linear A and linear B inscriptions might be ommited as difficult to grasp for public.Such books are necessary as an introductory material before a person reads huge books of,say,Samuel Kramer.The author desired to tell that various ancient civilizations have common roots.If that were the truth we would not witness wars raging even in the XX-XXIcc.Talk on the Exodus and the Hollocost of the Jews might be avoided mention in the book like this.Part on the gods and pyramids in the Nile valley are also more appropreate for a middle aged wise reader than for a teenager.The ancient history of the area Kardu(from the Zagros mountains in what is now Iran to the Nile basin- would be enough for one book,the rest might be published in another volume,as too many dates,personal and place names in such books make them difficult to grasp.The paintings of the houses and farms in Ur are brilliant.

man was that a good book. pictures, writing. best non-fiction ever. better than the THE TORONTO STORY.