Ancient Iraq: Third Edition (Penguin History) [Mass Market Paperback]

Georges Roux (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penguin History | Publication Date: January 1, 1995

Newly revised and containing information from recent excavations and discovered artifacts, Ancient Iraq covers the political, cultural, and socio-economic history from Mesopotamia days of prehistory to the Christian era.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Revised edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014012523x
• ISBN-13: 978-0140125238
• ASIN: 014012523X
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Overview for Student and Lay-person, September 22, 2000

By 

Timothy A. Curry (Moscow, ID USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ancient Iraq: Third Edition (Penguin History) (Mass Market Paperback)

No one was more surprised than Georges Roux himself when people worldwide began demanding reprints from his articles in the now-defunct "Iraq Petroleum" magazine. But he shouldn't have been - the literature surrounding ancient Mesopotamia tends either to scholastic obscurity (and textbook expense) or to such a broad scope that oversimplification is necessary just to keep the story within two covers.

Not so Roux's wonderful overview. After his retirement from a leading British pharmaceutical company he found the necessary leisure, and access to Parisian university libraries, to compile this volume of history. The first edition was written in the 60's, the second in the 80's after some remarkable finds greatly expanded the continuity of the original, and the third, this volume, in the early 90's. In this, he states that the English version has actually leapfrogged the original version in his native French.

The book traces the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia from the Paleolithic period through Sumer and Akkad, the Assyrian empire, Babylon, the glory of the Old Testament period, and to the final takeover by the Hellenistic Greeks. This sweep of history comprising some six-plus millennia cannot, of course, be dealt with comprehensively within the bounds of a single volume; nevertheless, Roux has managed to spotlight the extant periods without losing the story's overall continuity, a considerable achievement.

This is, in this reviewer's opinion, the best single-volume introduction to ancient Mesopotamian history on the market today.

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential purchase for anyone interested in Mesopotamia, August 11, 2004

By 

Ray Farmer (Concord, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ancient Iraq: Third Edition (Penguin History) (Mass Market Paperback)

Georges Roux stated that his goal in writing "Ancient Iraq" was to provide the layman reader with a cohesive introduction to the history of ancient Mesopotamia, incorporating archaeological and historical finds up to 1992. In this regard, I think Roux succeeded splendidly, and he did so by pointing out and explaining general patterns in Mesopotamian history. This book really breathes life into the ancients and allows the reader to see beyond the cold and lifeless sculptures and tablets.

Although the book is full of interesting topics, what really struck me was how long the Sumerian culture managed to exist in some form or another despite the successive waves of foreign invaders. To survive 3000 years in such unstable conditions really demonstrates how sophisticated and influential Sumero-Akkadian culture was at that time.

As the title suggests, "Ancient Iraq" deals primarily with ancient civilizations that resided within the confines of modern-day Iraq. As a result, the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians ae given center stage, while other cultures in the Near East, such as the Egyptians, Hittites, and Persians are only briefly reviewed, despite their interaction with the Mesopotamians.

Pictures, maps, and various timelines are also included in the book. Unfortunately, pictures of artifacts are either B&W photos or simple line drawings, and I felt this presentation really failed to bring forth the beauty inherent in such objects. Many of the same photos are presented in color in another book ("The Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia"), and the difference is like night and day. Nevertheless, I should say that Roux's narrative does not suffer at all from this slight shortcoming, and most readers probably will not care about the visual aids.

All in all, I found this book to be quite engaging and believe that anybody interested in ancient Mesopotamia should have this book in their personal library. It was a another reviewer's opinion that this was the best book of its kind available on the market today. I wholeheartedly agree.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A true gem, November 7, 2000

By 

Tim G. (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ancient Iraq: Third Edition (Penguin History) (Mass Market Paperback)

Roux is the rarest of scholars and academes, he is one who can write. Ancient Iraq is extremely erudite and written clearly and lucidly. Reading it and getting involved in the text is not difficult. Ancient Iraq covers the full spectrum of Iraqi ancient history and prehistory, from the Paleolithic through the Neolithic, the Sumerian civilization, and on to the Assyrian and Persian empires. Despite the wide scope of this book, Roux manages to keep the narrative tightly contained and compact, avoiding digressions and wandering. Highly readable, this book deserves to be owned by anyone with an interest in the region. It is poorly illustrated, but this is a relatively minor flaw. This is a true classic of archaeological literature.