Civilizations

by Clint Twist, Jane McIntosh, Jane McIntosh, Clint Twist

Book Overview

Civilization takes the reader from the earliest days of human settlement to the civilizations of the New World overthrown by the Spanish conquistadors. After a brief look at humanity's development as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789478307
• ISBN13: 9780789478306
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 3.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 10.2" x 11.3"

Customer Reviews

A well illustrated introductory overview

This large-format book, co-published by the BBC, provides an attractive basic introduction to the world's major civilizations from prehistory to the era of medieval Europe. The text, while clearly written, is somewhat patchy in its coverage. For example, the authors devote significant attention to New World civilizations including those of coastal Peru and the Mississippi valley, but leave out comparable societies in sub-Saharan Africa. Interspersed among the historical accounts are special sections that briefly discuss stone tools, pottery, water and intensive agriculture, copper and bronze working, the beginning of writing, settlements, tombs and burial practices, warfare, iron technology, alphabets and developed writing, coinage and media of exchange, slavery, recreation, mathematics and measurement, ships and navigation, civil engineering, temples, astronomy and calendars, textiles, and medicine. The numerous illustrations, generally well presented, include many striking images that will be new to most readers. The simple maps often lack sufficient detail.

Beautifully written overview, some omissions, etc.

The first clue that this is not a reliable reference was that it has no publication date. The printing technology indicates it was published within the past 20 years, and the cover refers to a book that has not yet been published in 2001, but I found nothing else.Omission is also the most common defect inside. Regarding the sudden appearance of agriculture in Japan (500 BCE), there is no mention of the modern Japanese from Korea displacing the older civilization that was probably related to the Ainu. The fine chronology in front mentions independent early development of agriculture in New Guinea, but it does not appear in the text. The idea that evidence of the caste system has been found by Indus archeology is important enough to warrant a little information about the evidence, but none is provided; it should appear in "A Peaceful Realm", whenever that is published. I think they are trying to avoid any possible controversy, but of course that endeavour always fails. I could have used a map showing the land with the sea level at 10000 BCE level, when Japan was connected to Asia, England and Ireland to Europe, and the Black Sea wasn't.I was looking for something about India from 1500 to 600 BCE, since Jane McIntosh seems to have expertise in the Indus civilization, but found nothing. That, however, may simply indicate there is no archeological evidence. (Hindu nationalist "archeology" notwithstanding.) Some details seem at odds with other recent mainstream sources. I would not really trust any single item in this book without checking another source. Perhaps that is an inevitable result of squeezing world history into a short book, probably on a tight schedule, but it is why I gave it four stars instead of five. The larger matters, meriting two or more sentences, are probably accurate within the limit of current knowledge.The Eurocentric viewpoint is evident, but somewhat muted compared to other world histories. That too is probably inevitable because history is determined by the available evidence even when it is not dictated by the winners. This is an excellent and beautiful short overview, contains superb maps, and includes many fascinating insightful sidebars. Just remember to write in the year of publication.