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ellington_bush's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
rubybastille's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.25
This did a great job of helping readers remember the many, many rulers and place names in the mix throughout this era, laying out relationships and networks in order to show a broad yet detailed picture of what was going on at the end of the Bronze Age across the whole Mediterranean. Cline frames the various socioeconomic relationships as well as the scale and impact of disasters in modern terms that makes them feel relevant and understandable. He also draws parallels between that system and our modern, highly globalized and interconnected financial system. It makes a huge topic engaging and easy to follow.
zenithharpink's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
As an audiobook, this was reminiscent of a college lecture - dry enough that it's simply impossible to retain all the info, yet interesting enough that it's not worth dropping the class outright. The author was the reader, and his passion for the material was apparent, but his ability to deliver this (either in his writing or his spoken delivery) in anything but an overly pedantic way was too much to ask.
I like the topic, but without grounding the info in people's behaviors and personalities, it all runs together somewhat. This was a bit of a slog, though well-researched. Although a "feature" of this time in history, the "we will or may never know" aspect of a lot of details really drove me crazy and made clear I was right not to become an archaeologist :D
I recommend to dedicated fans of this historical period. It's an absolute wealth of information!
I like the topic, but without grounding the info in people's behaviors and personalities, it all runs together somewhat. This was a bit of a slog, though well-researched. Although a "feature" of this time in history, the "we will or may never know" aspect of a lot of details really drove me crazy and made clear I was right not to become an archaeologist :D
I recommend to dedicated fans of this historical period. It's an absolute wealth of information!
iceberg0's review against another edition
3.0
Very interesting but not read by a performer. Very much like listening to a lecture.
lprnana6572's review against another edition
4.0
If you like ancient history, this book covers the question of what happened in 1177BC to cause a general collapse of what had been a strong cultural economy in a form that is readable. At the end, it dishearteningly states that all civilizations eventually collapse and looks briefly at the state of the world today.
readbyashleyd's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Such an interesting and educational read! Can’t recommend it highly enough, my only complaint is I wanted more!