ancient

After using this book (as well as books 2 and 3) as texts for a class, I must say that I found all of them to be overrated and a poor choice of reference. The volumes contain nice photographs but are ineffective as textbooks. For example, as material is introduced a sudden segue to a new subject leaves the reader cold. I would not recommend any of this series to those who need detail. These books support a teaching methodology that relies upon mundane memorization of incidental information rather than comprehensive study.

I highly recommend this series of six books. When I was in college, I bought one of the books because it looked so interesting even though I wasn't taking the course. In the past year, I've ordered the other books in the series. The books are very interesting and informative, with many color pictures of the art and architecture discussed. The books also discuss literature, philosophy, and the history of science. The graphic layout of the books is excellent and there are many reading selections of literature and philosophy. Even though the series concentrates on western humanities, there are also excellent sections on Asian, African, Islamic, and Native American arts.

I find this book to be full of great educational material, however, when reading the "historical" research about the Hebrews, I find that it is full of erroneous information. For example, the book implies that the Hebrews "chose" to settle in near the Dead Sea because the land of Canaan was filled with large military forces, but the Bible clearly states that God (or their concept of God) caused them to roam as a form of punishment for their distrust in him. Also, it stated that the ten commandments are all negative (as in don'ts) when I can think of two (4-keep the sabbath, and 5-honor your mother and father) are positives. And, that the ten commandments had no specified punishment. From Bible standards, it is very clear, transgression of the law requires death of either the human or an animal.