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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Lost Civilizations by Donald P. Ryan ISBN: 0-02-862954-X Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 27 May, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.27 (11 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A reference tool I will reach for time and time again.
Comment: Dr. Donald P. Ryan serves up a plethora of fascinating and interesting tidbits of information encompassing all aspects of archaeology, clear explanations of technical jargon and the cultures of ancient civilizations in this concise and well written volume. While the format and presentation of material lends itself well to small infusions of highly educational, interesting and entertaining moments at one sitting, the author's writing style is so engaging that you anxiously await your next opportunity to dive into the next segment or chapter. Due to the enormity of the topic, space prevents a highly detailed presentation of any given ancient culture so the author kindly assists by providing a recommended reading list at the conclusion of the book for those yearning to learn even more. However, it is quite incredible just how much information Dr. Ryan has succeeding in presenting us with, given the confining space restrictions of this one volume.
Dr. Ryan has the knack of making ancient cultures "come alive" and provides an awareness that ancient cultures were significantly more advanced than they have been given credit for and points out the technical, social and political "advances" made. My special area of interest happens to be the culture of Ancient Egypt however, after devouring Dr. Ryan's book, I am now most anxious to learn more about Ancient Egypt's neighboring civilizations and to learn more about "lost civilizations" in a broader sense. I also now feel that I have a better understanding of archaeological methods, techniques and "jargon" which will make delving through all those technical journals a much more pleasant experience!
I was particularly impressed with the author's ability to cover the rather touchy topics of fringe archaeology, diffusion and isolation viewpoints and ethical dilemmas in a frank, candid and non-biased manner. He manages to pull all this off in a non-judgmental manner and encourages the reader to think for themselves based on the archaeological evidence at hand as well as keeping in mind that out of "fringe" archaeology may come a valuable piece of information.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone with even a mild interest in archaeology and ancient civilizations.
Rating: 5
Summary: excellent overview
Comment: This book is an excellent introduction and overview to the subjects of archaeology and ancient civilizations. Dr. Ryan, an expert in many areas of archaeology and ancient history, and an accomplished explorer, introduces the basics without condescension, and discusses more difficult or technical areas without losing his readers. He also deals fairly with those on the archaeological "fringe." A valuable part of the book is his advice to those who wish to pursue a career in archaeology. Very well-written and a pleasure to read, and downright hilarious in places. Highly recommended!
Rating: 5
Summary: Truly informative and enjoyable!
Comment: As one who has taught ancient history for many years, I'm always interested in finding books that will nicely supplement the usual texts and lectures. This book really fills a gap. It provides wonderful information on how archaeology works and I found that the summaries of the various world areas were quite competent...A lot of ancient history and archaeology is debatable and one can't expect the ins and outs of all the various arguments to be thoroughly discussed in detail in such a broad, general introduction as is typically found in the Idiot's Guides series. Ryan seems to have prudently taken the mainstream opinions in most cases and I found his special chapters on the controversial subjects to be very well-written...I'll just say that this is a really nice book which I can highly recommend and I hope it does well! - E.L.
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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Ancient Egypt by Donald P. Ryan ISBN: 0028642775 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 29 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Roman Empire by Eric Nelson Ph.D. ISBN: 0028641515 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 16 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Mythology by Kevin Osborn, Dana Burgess ISBN: 0028623851 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 23 July, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Old West by Mike Flanagan ISBN: 0028629450 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 13 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Human Prehistory by Robert J. Meier ISBN: 0028644212 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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