Customer Reviews

The Complete Pompeii (The Complete Series)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book summarizes everything you ever wanted to know about Pompeii, with chapters on the story of the eruption, history of excavations, origins of the town, Pompeiians' daily lives, leadership and politics, housing, religion, economy, and the 16 years between a destructive earthquake and the death of the town. There are over 300 illustrations enabling the reader to visualize what Berry is saying. The information is current as of early 2007, so it includes the latest findings and theories. The author is not squeamish about showing nudity or quoting obscene graffiti, both of which helped archaeologists decipher the daily goings-on in Pompeii.

I have to agree with the other reviews about the quality of this book. The publishers have produced several books under a similar title (e.g.'The Complete Tutankhamun'; 'The Complete Valley of the Kings')and all are of a very high quality. This book stands out for several reasons. Firstly, the text is of a high quality - suitable for the general reader, but also for school and university students, and the information is very complete and up-to-date. Secondly, the photographs are again of a very high quality. I think there are no photographs that I have not seen before, but the quality of these is superb - - undoubtedly they have been digitally enhanced. As a teacher, I will be able to use these very effectively to teach about Pompeii, but equally, the general reader will get great enjoyment and some learning because of the quality of them. As I write, I have 26 books besides me about Pompeii and/or Herculaneum. I have no doubt that this is probably the best of them.

If you require information about anything the internet has probably become an unbeatable source of knowledge but for me maybe I am old fashioned there is still nothing to beat a good book and this is a good book. It is full of facts and photographs laid out in such a way that they are interesting to the reader.

The main reason that I personally bought the book was that I had visited the site a dozen years ago and my memories of the place were starting to fade in my mind. As soon as I opened the book and the photographs of various parts of the site shone back at me from the pages, all the old memories flooded back and it was as though I had been there only yesterday. The book covers virtually everything that anyone is likely to want to know about Pompeii nd the surrounding area. Also about how one of the largest archaeological sites in the world is still developing with new things being discovered all the time.

The destruction of Pompeii is well documented, but little is known of the lives of the people who lived in Pompeii before the disaster. This book goes a long way towards telling the story of the unfortunate people who were caught up in one of the worst natural disasters in history. How they lived their lives, the work they did and how they spent their leisure time.

I'm a Pompeii enthusiast having read many books on the topic and visited there a couple of times. This book is a good source of the history of the excavations among other topics. Unless you're an archeology student, it's about as thorough as you might need. Another plus is the study of the suburbs of ancient Pompeii that are now being further excavated usually through tunneling. Most books just deal with Pompeii with a few pages on Herculeanium.

The letters of Pliny the Younger are translated here - he'd made copies of those he sent to a Roman historian who'd requested the story of Pliny the Elder's last day on Earth when he succumbed to the Vesuvian eruption.

About 1/3 of the photos I'd never seen before particularly the drawings, photos, maps, etc of the excavations. Life in Pompeii is well chronicled, however, if you're looking for all the casts of Pompeiians, there are just a few represented out of the 100's made.

This book is quite detailed and a fantastic summation in one source. So far it's the best I've found with a good balance of graphics and text. Very artfully done. One of the best one-stop sources of Pompeii.

This is informative on all aspects of this ancient city. The photographs and the written subject matter are most interesting and appealing.

I read this to prepare for a trip to the Amalfi Coast and found it an excellent primer, discussing the archeology and art very thoroughly. It wasn't as detailed on the history of Pompeii in its heyday, but there are other sources for that. It is a clear, thorough, and well-illustrated summary of the ruins, as well as an illuminating discussion of the impact of the various discoverers and diggers who have made it what you see today.

This book is a comprehensive treatment of this significant heritage site. It has a lot to offer for both the interested amateur as well as those who teach it at schools. The photos are well chosen and the diagrams are well drawn and very helpful. The text is accurate and very readable. This is amust have book for those teaching Ancient History in NSW, Australia. Highly recommended. Thanks Ms Berry.

A reprint, but a good and timely one. The other reviewers have said it all, but I wanted to add my measley two-cents. As the title boldly proclaims, it is Pompeii in completion, or at least as complete as it was by the time of this reprint, expertly presented and rendered. The whole panorama. No new or sensational or controversial or terribly outside-the-box insights--just good research accompanying the wealth of visual evidence. Practically ALL of it. A great standard for anyone's library on the subject of Pompeii. One can always turn to the more cryptic, experimental treatments later on. This will always be enjoyed and utilized. Maybe not classic, or definitive quite yet, but it ought to be a staple.

The information is very up to date (in 2007)and provides good reference material for the Ancient History course that I am teaching at high school. There is some new information that I have not found in other reference books.

I am traveling to Pompeii in January and hope that what appears to be very useful information about getting to Pompeii is accurate.

This is a beautifully illustrated book whose text, is, alas, sometimes clumsy, repetitive or banal. Nevertheless, the value, at the discounted price, is excellent. The Complete Pompeii works well as an illustrated companion to books like Mary Beard's The Fires of Vesuvius or, my favorite as a popular work on the subject, Alex Butterworth and Ray Laurence's Pompeii The Living City.