Lost Civilizations - The Ancient Greeks

By Don Nardo

From Homer's ILIAD, recounting the deeds of the heroes of the Trojan War, to the magnificent Parthenon temple atop Athens's Acropolis, the fascinating story of the ancient Greeks is told here, with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1560067055
• ISBN13: 9781560067054
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: Lucent Books
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 0.5" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 11 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 6 to 9

Customer Reviews

Great Book

This is one of the best general examinations of ancient Greek civilization I have ever seen for young people. It's chocked full of useful and fasinating information about both the history and lives of the Greeks, and it also tells a lot about how modern scholars learn about these facts. All high school classes that cover ancient culures should be using this book.

Superior Writing for Young People

Anyone familiar with the non-fiction history books that have been published in the young adult market in recent years has to be impressed with classical historian Don Nardo. As prolific as Michael Grant, as versatile as Chester G. Starr, and as thorough as A.H.M. Jones (for non-history buffs, three of the leading ancient historians of the twentieth century), Nardo has devoted several years of his time and energy to improving, and indeed single-handedly setting, the standard of historical writing for books used as reference in libraries in schools in the United States. As a former high school and junior college instructor, I have had frequent occasion to scan, review, and sometimes utilize such books in my classes, and I can testify that, with some rare exceptions, most are written by non-specialists who have little idea of what to emphasize in their texts or how to differentiate between current and dated material. These volumes are typically riddled with factual errors or at least misleading statements that students writing reports and other papers accept without question and which I have found myself correcting on a regular basis. Nardo's books, in contrast, are factually reliable and cover their subjects with thoughtful attention to organization, proper emphasis, and inclusion of the most recent available data. This general overview of Greek civilization is no exception. It combines a feeling of epic sweep with meticulous attention to detail, much of the latter dealing with archaeological finds and how these have contributed to our knowledge of Greek history and culture. His companion volumes in the same series-one on the Romans, the other on ancient Mesopotamia-are equally good for the same reasons. In addtion, his fulsome "Complete History of Ancient Greece," containing huge amounts of extremely valuable reference material, is a must for every school and community library.

An Information-packed Look at Ancient Greece

I saw this book in the juvenile section of my library and figured it couldn't have the kind of detailed information I was looking for about ancient Greece. Boy, was I ever wrong! The author has managed to collect a tremendous amount of facts about Greece's history and important leaders and everytday life, etc. and put them together in a sweeping summary of an ancient civilization. I also found the many references to archeological studies of Greek sites to be very helpful. Though shorter than many adult books I have seen on Greece, this one is mcuh better than most. I heartily recommend it.