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burksandcaicos's review against another edition
4.0
I was reading the 2014 edition while listening to the 2021 audiobook so some of the revisions and updates (especially in the last section) were kicking my ass, but he DID warn me in the preface so it wasn't too bad. Fascinating stuff here.
puzzles_and_pie's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent overview of the late Bronze Age, theories on what caused its collapse, and also an overview of just what collapsed--multiple civilizations that thrived until they didn't. It is written for a lay audience, though for me it lies a bit in the middle of the academic -- general public spectrum.
Every single civilization in the history of the world has collapsed, and you can't help but think of parallels to today (and the author also notes these obvious parallels).
Recently updated edition read by the author who is a professor at GW.
Every single civilization in the history of the world has collapsed, and you can't help but think of parallels to today (and the author also notes these obvious parallels).
Recently updated edition read by the author who is a professor at GW.
megreadsbooks_'s review against another edition
3.75
I appreciate how this book not only told a chronology of the Late Bronze Age, but also a narrative of how the scholarship has evolved over the past century or so. I think some of the information in the prologue should've been reiterated in the final act. I definitely think this book would've benefited from a lot more maps, especially since it covers four centuries of history and often makes specific references to a site's geography.
polanabear's review against another edition
4.0
The book is a list of archeological finds, thoroughly detailed but a bit dry and without the best narrative arc to connect them.
It does do a good job showing how interconnected and advanced the cultures in the eastern Mediterranean was at 1500 BC. Sadly, despite the title, very little of the book was on why these civilizations collapsed so quickly within a few decades of each other. The author listed a few of the usual suspects in a cursory way at the end of the book, and it was unsatisfying way to end.
2024 update - I reread the book in its latest version and it does more conclusively point to climate change - a mega drought that lasted 300 years - as the main culprit for mass civilization collapse. Satisfying answer, ratings updated
It does do a good job showing how interconnected and advanced the cultures in the eastern Mediterranean was at 1500 BC. Sadly, despite the title, very little of the book was on why these civilizations collapsed so quickly within a few decades of each other. The author listed a few of the usual suspects in a cursory way at the end of the book, and it was unsatisfying way to end.
2024 update - I reread the book in its latest version and it does more conclusively point to climate change - a mega drought that lasted 300 years - as the main culprit for mass civilization collapse. Satisfying answer, ratings updated
bookdragonkatie's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
A fascinating listen! I wish I had the physical copy to do a tandem read because I think I would have been able to keep track of people and places so much better, but the information that was provided and the comparisons made were so interesting. Recommend, but either as a tandem read or just the physical. The author did a great job as the narrator, though!