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Title: The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Ancient World: Unlocking the Secrets of Past Civilizations by Brian M. Fagan ISBN: 0-500-51050-4 Publisher: Thames & Hudson Pub. Date: October, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.88 (8 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Superficial sweeping ...
Comment: It is a good coffee table book. If you really want to learn, then this book is not for you...it is merely a diving board to propel you to more serious, detailed writings. It is a brief reference, which if used for this purpose, is not bad at all.
Rating: 4
Summary: A good starting point
Comment: More of an encyclopedia of short entries concerning unsolved historical/archaeological mysteries than anything else, this book nonetheless provides enough general information to initiate those new to these ongoing debates. It also works well for people like me, who have read endlessly about some of these topics but sometimes need to look up a generality or a name associated with a particular subject. Most of the entries are concise and informative enough to provoke further reading, and the writing style is engaging and maintains interest. It covers most of the basic subjects (the development of language and writing, the Pyramids and the Sphinx, Atlantis) and a few more "obscure" ones: The Land of Punt, Mithraism, Tiwanaku (from my experience, these seem to come up short in other, similar books). (From here, one might look to "Ancient Mysteries" by James and Thorpe, which offers fewer topics but is incredibly well-researched and detailed). Good work.
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinating Read
Comment: I have always enjoyed books about mysterious events of the past, unknown civilizations, strange happenings, etc. This book is full of such items. The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Ancient World looks at some of these mysteries through the eyes of modern archaeology and other sciences to try to resolve at least some of the questions surrounding them. Each item is subjected to a scientific analysis of the knowledge that we have obtained to date. Generally, the situation ends up being exactly what it has been in the past... an unresolved mystery.
Lavishly illustrated, it is written in a conversational style that is easy to read and understand. Logically divided into appropriate sections it starts with Myths and Legends, moves to Mysteries of the Stone Age, then to Ancient Civilizations, Tombs and Lost Treasures, Ancient and Undeciphered Scripts and the Fall of Civilizations. The only thing that I did not like about the book was the short treatment of each item. With seventy chapters (one for each of the mysteries) and roughly 300 pages that is only an average of four pages per mystery. However, at the back of the book is an extensive listing of references to consult for further information on each of the items. For those who like a complete synopsis of each mystery and the current level of knowledge this is excellent. A fascinating book, it covered not only the mysteries that I was aware of but also many that I had never heard of before. If there is one book that I would suggest to gain a basic knowledge of the greatest mysteries of the Ancient World then this one would be it.
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Title: The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World: The Great Monuments and How They Were Built by Christopher Scarre, Chris Scarre ISBN: 0500050961 Publisher: Thames & Hudson Pub. Date: 01 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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Title: The Seventy Great Mysteries of Ancient Egypt by Bill Manley ISBN: 0500051232 Publisher: Thames & Hudson Pub. Date: 24 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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Title: Ancient Mysteries by Peter James, Nick Thorpe ISBN: 0345434889 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 30 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: The Seventy Wonders of the Modern World: 1500 Years of Extraordinary Feats of Engineering and Construction by Neil Parkyn ISBN: 0500510474 Publisher: Thames & Hudson Pub. Date: 01 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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Title: Ancient Inventions by Peter James, Nick Thorpe ISBN: 0345401026 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 1995 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
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