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A review by paperrhino
1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline
3.0
A fascinating book that misses out on some opportunities. 1177 B.C. is an argument in book form as to the cause of the fall of the interconnected civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Late Bronze Age. The bulk of the book presents the archaeological and historical evidence for economic and social interconnections of the civilizations of that time including the Egyptians, Hittites, Minoans, Mycenaeans, Babylonians, etc. Once the author establishes the high degree of interconnections he presents the evidence that most of these civilizations, kingdoms, and empires collapsed. Next the author presents several theories about the cause of the collapse, some natural like climate change, and others man made like the invasion of the mysterious Sea Peoples. Finally, the author presents his theory for the collapse.
Where this book excels is reinforcing how much interaction there was between the late bronze age civilizations. He also does a good job of driving home exactly how long ago this was. While the pyramids at Giza are over 1000 years old at this point, the Trojan War takes place during this period, the first mention of Israel as a people appears, classical Greek civilization is several hundred years away, and the Roman empire is around 1000 years away. The book also does a good job of keeping the material presented accessible to people who are not experts in bronze age archaeology which gives the impression that the book is intended for a non-academic audience.
However, I believe the author missed an opportunity to make the book more entertaining. Much too much time is spent going over the many inscriptions and clay tablets, their provenance, and their contents and consequently less time is spent on the story. Consequently the book reads like a thesis or dissertation rather than a book for a popular audience. Perhaps that was deliberate but the book is not advertised as an academic publication. If the author had taken the approach of presenting the material as a narrative rather than as an argument the material would have been even more accessible and entertaining. A good example of a book that uses this approach is The Punic Wars by Goldsworthy.
Despite my middling rating I would recommend this book to anyone interested in ancient history.
Where this book excels is reinforcing how much interaction there was between the late bronze age civilizations. He also does a good job of driving home exactly how long ago this was. While the pyramids at Giza are over 1000 years old at this point, the Trojan War takes place during this period, the first mention of Israel as a people appears, classical Greek civilization is several hundred years away, and the Roman empire is around 1000 years away. The book also does a good job of keeping the material presented accessible to people who are not experts in bronze age archaeology which gives the impression that the book is intended for a non-academic audience.
However, I believe the author missed an opportunity to make the book more entertaining. Much too much time is spent going over the many inscriptions and clay tablets, their provenance, and their contents and consequently less time is spent on the story. Consequently the book reads like a thesis or dissertation rather than a book for a popular audience. Perhaps that was deliberate but the book is not advertised as an academic publication. If the author had taken the approach of presenting the material as a narrative rather than as an argument the material would have been even more accessible and entertaining. A good example of a book that uses this approach is The Punic Wars by Goldsworthy.
Despite my middling rating I would recommend this book to anyone interested in ancient history.