School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Visually beautiful, Ackroyd's introduction to the history and culture of ancient Greece features large photographs around which text blocks are often shaped, as well as smaller photos and maps with informative captions. The author ably and broadly examines notable periods, such as the Minoan and Mycenaean, the Classical and the Hellenistic, by looking at pertinent artifacts, including architecture, pottery, sculpture and-beginning with Homer-significant literary works in the fields of poetry, history, drama, and philosophy. The main narrative flows smoothly from historical events such as the Peloponnesian War and the colonization of Italy into chronologically appropriate topics of sociology and culture such as the characteristics of Greek art and the makeup and order of Spartan society. It covers the entire sweep of ancient Greek history from the pre-Homeric and preliterate times down to the fall of Hellenism to the Roman Empire. A final reference section describes how we know about the past and offers annotated lists of important people and gods, a look at Greek architecture, and an annotated glossary. The illustrative material includes photographs of ancient sites, art, and architecture; new illustrations, diagrams, and maps; the occasional painting from European art history; and even modern models in period costume. Most libraries will want this rich, fluid, and attractive overview.-Coop Renner, Hillside Elementary, El Paso, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. Like its fellow entries in the Voyages through Time series, this reads like an Eyewitness Book recast for a more advanced reader, with an expanded main narrative and a reduction in the number of pictures to compensate. The illustrations, which include occasional maps, decorative fillers, and sharp color photos of ruins, ancient artifacts, and reconstructions, back up Ackroyd's conventional account of the rise and fall of Knossos, Sparta, Athens, and Alexander the Great, which he combines with an appreciation of the enduring qualities of ancient Greek culture and government. Closing with scanty spreads on prominent pre-Roman gods, art, celebrities, and architecture, the treatment doesn't break any new ground, but it does make handsomely packaged assignment fodder. --GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright 2005 Booklist
