The Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World

by Simon Adams

Featuring seventeen beautiful hand-illustrated maps and packed with eye-opening information about ancient civilizations and peoples, this is an unbeatable pictorial guide to what the world was like between 10,000 B.C. and A.D. 1000. Each stunning map shows the major sites from a particular civilization or group of civilizations, with their cities, temples, palaces, farmers, and traders brought vividly to life with detailed picture symbols. Feature spreads use photographs of cultural and architectural artifacts, as well as additional information, to focus in greater depth on the key cultures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Genres: History, Reference, The World, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Simon Adams is a writer and editor of children’s non-fiction and reference books. He specializes in history, politics and current affairs and has written extensively on exploration, music and the arts. He is also a well established jazz critic and reviewer. Simon has also contributed to family and adult reference books and has been an editorial consultant on various history and other titles.
Simon was born in Bristol and studied history and politics at the London School of Economics and Bristol University, where he gained an MSc. He entered publishing as a publicity copywriter at Routledge and subsequently joined Dorling Kindersley, eventually becoming managing editor of the children's division. He became a full-time writer 15 years ago. Since then, he has written and contributed to more than 60 books for a wide range of publishers on subjects as varied as archaeology, the sinking of the Titanic and the history of jazz. Simon lives in London and is a keen reader and cyclist.

Reviews

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

My students and I were enchanted by this book, right from the first moments we discovered it at a friends' house! At only $12, I think we've already got our money's worth and we've owned it less than a month. My only regret is that we didn't have it when we began our study of ancient times.

The hand drawn maps are the highlight. Not only do they show the geography, but they also feature interesting graphics that show farming methods, architectural triumphs, and technological achievements, and I don't know any other way to explain it but to say they are FUN. My early reader is eager to decipher their messages! Photographs are also interspersed.

A bonus is that the book is not limited to Western Civilization. Full page spreads of sparse text and wonderful illustration are presented on the following topics:

The First Towns
Mesopotamia
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Europe
The Indus Valley
Minoans and Myceneans
Peoples of the Mediterranean
The Great Empires
Ancient Greece
Roman Empire
Ancient Africa (which includes North Africa)
Ancient India
Ancient China
North American Peoples
Central and South America
Australia and Polynesia

The following full page spreads feature a more text heavy format. They are good, but what makes this book exceptional is really the pages in the previous category.
The Ancient World
The Ancient World: How we know about the past
Ancient Egypt: Preparing for the afterlife
- 1/2 page Map of a the Pyramids at Gaza
Ancient Greece: The Greek World
- Marches of Alexander the Great 1/3 page
The Roman Empire: City of Rome
- 1/4 page map of Rome

The one draw back is the timeline along the side of each map. I question many of the dates, but it is an opportunity to explain dating challenges, so even that can be redeemed!

Highly recommended. Thrilled to own it!

[Wisegirl Wiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well layed out pictorial guide to what the world was like between 10,000 B.C. and A.D. 1000. Artifacts and well developed explanations are included with the maps. I was pleased that all cultures are included instead of just a European view...

[Nojood Alsudairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need such a book in Arabic.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book for beginner history buffs