Eyewitness: Bible Lands (Eyewitness Books) [Library Binding]

Jonathan Tubb (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: DK Eyewitness Books

Full-color photos. "This is an excellent resource on the civilizations that existed in the Fertile Crescent ten millennia before the Christian era. In contrast to most presentations, which leave one with a sense of cultures in isolation, this book shows that whole kaleidoscope."--(starred) Science Books and Films. The history and geography of the Middle East are explored, and the culture and accomplishments of the ancient Hebrews, Babylonians, Persians, and other civilizations that flourished there are discussed.  

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...a mini museum between the covers of a book. [Eyewitness series] -- The New York Times

These books' striking visual impact will draw in even the most casual readers. [Eyewitness series] -- School Library Journal

From the Inside Flap

Full-color photos. "This is an excellent resource on the civilizations that existed in the Fertile Crescent ten millennia before the Christian era. In contrast to most presentations, which leave one with a sense of cultures in isolation, this book shows that whole kaleidoscope."--(starred) Science Books and Films. The history and geography of the Middle East are explored, and the culture and accomplishments of the ancient Hebrews, Babylonians, Persians, and other civilizations that flourished there are discussed.   --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding: 64 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN; 1st edition (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789465795
• ISBN-13: 978-0789465795
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,164,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Denies inerrancy of scripture, December 26, 2005

By 

L. Bradley (Makakilo, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eyewitness: Bible Lands (Hardcover)

While this book has nice pictures and very interesting contextual information I would not recommend it to parents who teach their children that the Bible is God's inerrant word. It consistently conveys a skeptical approach to the Bible and conveys no particular interest in or respect for the God of the Bible.
In a caption it says of Herod's slaughter of the infants in Bethlehem "In reality the story is a myth." Well generally speaking massacres don't have a high rate of official documentation - it just doesn't make for good PR. I guess a good political hush job makes this event merely a myth if the only surviving record source is the Bible (a very good document by any standard). While this fits the academic definition of "myth" the clear implication is that the event did not occur.
The book also makes other declarative statements and explanations that I have never read in reputable Christian sources.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A visual tour of items found in the Holy Land., May 6, 2001

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eyewitness: Bible Lands (Hardcover)

Bible Lands is a visual tour to the Holy Land. The geography, the history and the ancient civilizations of its people are revealed. Stunning real-life photographs are what make the eyewitness books so great. There are pictures of swords, statues, ships and the land.

What did Solomon's temple look like? Where the earliest human statues ever found? What does Assyrian armor look like? How did the Phoenicians dye their clothes? How did Abraham live and what did people eat in Old Testament times?

You will also discover who the Israelites were and how the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. The Holy Land is a region which is quite diverse in its terrain. There is a map on page 6 and 7 which shows the entire area being discussed. Do you wonder what the Tower of Babel looked like. Well, a picture of a ziggurat is about as close as you will get to the real thing. Each picture has text which explains the items. I would have enjoyed seeing larger pictures of the artwork and smaller pictures of say a watermelon.

I loved the picture of the illuminated manuscript which is from the medieval period and it is a page from a decorated Latin Bible. An interesting two pages shows how modern archeology began in the Holy Land in 1865 and all the tools used are displayed.

Very educational and fun to see how people in the past lived.

~The Rebecca Review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mass undertaking of Biblical proportions!, March 23, 2007

By 

Barbara Stienstra (Goshen, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eyewitness: Bible Lands (Eyewitness Books) (Library Binding)

D.K.'s The Bible Land is a high quality "must have" reference book for home, church, school, libraries. The carefully chosen exquisite artifacts throughout the book are a "must see" for every ancient civilization buff, those who study religion, and on hand as a BIBLE companion. All of which is simply explained in the language of the "common man."
Here are a few outstanding highlights:

Page six photographs of The Holy land incompasses wonderful explanations of the geographical area. It would have been more advantageous if a different color for the names of countries mentioned, had been utilized so a child would not have to refer elsewhere to note the countries, cities, rivers. (i.e. page 52 for The Indus River; The Jordan River, Page 56. Furthermore, the caption on page 54 states: "Where the Roman Writ ran", which the modern child would not understand.)
An excellent photograph of an ostuary may be found on page 9, but one must dig deeper into the book (page 55 "Roman Burials"-- though, "decaying process" might upset a young reader) to find more information regarding their usage.If one did not know anything about ostuaries to begin with, the wording beneath the caption would have one wonder how a body would fit into the small container!!!
The trek of Abraham (Ur) brings life to the story with a map depicting "Patriarch's path", found on page ten. A number of librarians with whom I work, never heard of a ziggurat and when I was explaining it to them I used Google Images, but on page 10 of this book, one will find an excellent illustration of a ziggurat. On page eleven, one will find an interesting artifact, a "yogurt maker!" Page twelve recognizes the question of slave labor or devotion in the construction of Ramses II's great building projects. The page following indicates "slipper-shaped coffins with lids "grotesquely modeled human features" of the Philistines (which I wish the word "grotesquely" was eliminated, as it is not nice to indicate this cultural difference in this light.) At this point in the text, it indicates the ongoing "battle": "Parting of the waters-- Although archeology cannot confirm the story of the Hebrew exodus through the waters of the Red Sea, it is not unlikely that a group of "hapiru' left Egypt during the reign of Ramses II and found their way to the Judean hill country." There is an excellent cross-section of a "tell" and the explanation of "What does it tell us?... complicated sequences of occupational phases." The term of "glacis" is introduced within.The chapter "The Israelites" explains the "split" in simple terms, which is excellent; and on the following page is a very good illustration debating "Sphinxes or Cherubim?" The crafting of glassblowing stated: "Shaping up-- Glassblowing had not been invented in Phoenician times, so vessels like this were made by molding the glass paste around a clay core"; "Brittle but beautiful...A paste of finely ground sand mixed with soda was used, and various pigments were used." The later part I was aware of, but is a good explanation for those who are not aware of: "When fired at a high temperature the mixture fused to form colored glass" , all of which was quite revealing to say the least. In the section "Gods and goddesses", this is an excellent compendium of "who's who!" "Food and crops" includes two species of wheat: emmer and einkorn, as well as barley, and cereals native of the Eastern Mediterranean region. There are photographs of "winnowing" (and a discussion of the "threshing process"); and a Iron Age mortar and pestle. The Fishing information includes "man made lakes or 'vivaria'". "Plates to eat above-- Circular flaps of unleavened bread were made, as they still are today, by slapping the dough against the inside wall of a simple cylindrical oven, called a tannur. Such bread flaps could be used as edible platters," may be found on page 31, and we think it novel in today's restaurants to order the edible taco bowl platter! Page 33 is helpful because every so often I (am a librarian) asked the difference between "one humped and two humped camels", and this suffices. --- The Shroud of Turin has through scholarship and modern dating methodologies has been deemed a hoax, and probably not once and for all, lest it changes, on page 56 it is indicated it is in question. Wherever Herod was mentioned I was waiting for equal thought with regard to "the slaughter of the innocents."... sure enough, there it was "MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS... In reality the story is a myth."
Chocked with good information on agriculture.
... one gets the general idea of the content of this reference companion.

It might be helpful for a child or novace to have had a glossary.
All-in-all, I feel the author(s) did a note-worthy job of a mass-undertaking!