Finding the Lost Cities [Hardcover]

Rebecca Stefoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 1997

Assisted by fourteen specially commissioned maps and full-color photographs of sites and artifacts, the reader is invited on a voyage of exploration through twelve ancient cities, once home to the world's ancient peoples. UP. "

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up. A description of Howard Carter's 1922 discovery of Tut's tomb immediately engages readers in this engrossing survey of archaeological discoveries. The romance of "lost cities" is fully present in the discussion of 12 sites, arranged chronologically by date of discovery, from 1812 through the 19th century. Stefoff covers Petra, Nineveh, Hattusha, and Ur in the Middle East; Copan in Central America; Chaco Canyon in North America; Angkor in Asia; Troy, Knossos, and Gournia in Europe and Asia Minor; Zimbabwe in Africa; and Machu Picchu in South America. Each chapter describes the excavation of the site, with biographies of the people who conducted the work, including colorful characters like Heinrich Schliemann and Hiram Bingham, and women archaeologists such as Harriet Boyd. What is known about the civilizations as a result of both excavation and painstaking research is given, as are theories about the abandonment and disappearance of the cities. The final chapter shows how satellite and computer imaging revealed Ubar in 1991 and Urkesh in 1995. The index is a bit inconsistent but the bibliography is extensive, with works as recent as 1996. This stunning, oversized book has 13 maps, 130 illustrations and reproductions (30 in color), and a chronology from before 4000 B.C. to 1995. A title that's certain to spark interest in vanished civilizations and in archaeology, with its mix of dramatic discoveries and careful deductions.?Pam Gosner, formerly at Maplewood Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7^-12. Stefoff chronicles the discoveries of ancient cities, from the Americas to Africa to the Middle East, that were either lost or unexplored in modern times. In addition to capsulizing the history of these places, she paints a vivid picture of archaeology as it has progressed from little more than looting and grave robbing to the painstaking process it is today. The book journeys to some familiar places--among them, Troy, Crete, and the Anasazi cities in New Mexico--but it also examines some lesser-known civilizations, such as Cambodia's Ankgor and Gournia, the first lost city uncovered by a woman. The chronicle of discovery ends on a high technological note with Steffof describing how NASA's Space Imaging Radar verified the location of a legendary city buried beneath the sands of Oman. More than 100 photos are included, as are a chronology and an extensive reading list. Randy Meyer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 12, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019509249X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195092493
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,732,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rebecca Stefoff published her first books when she was in college and has been writing ever since. She is the author of more than 150 books, with more on the way. Her writing motto: "Ideas are easy. Pages are hard."

Rebecca has written many nonfiction books for children and young adults, with an emphasis on science and history. Through her books teenage readers can explore topics as varied as ghosts, robots, bacteria, evolution, women pioneers, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, and forensic crime solving.

Over the course of her freelance writing career Rebecca has also published romance novels, celebrity biographies, reference works, and even a self-help book. In addition, she has adapted the works of historian Howard Zinn, science writer Charles C. Mann, and ethnic studies pioneer Ronald Takaki for young audiences.

After growing up in Indiana, Rebecca moved to Philadelphia for graduate school. Later she moved to the Pacific Northwest and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

When Rebecca was in the fifth grade she picked up a copy of Robert A. Heinlein's novel Space Cadet in her school library. That got her hooked on speculative fiction: science fiction at first, then fantasy and later horror. As a grad student in English at the University of Pennsylvania, she developed and taught the school's first undergraduate classes in science fiction and fantasy. She still loves speculative fiction and reads a lot of nonfiction as well. Her interests include evolutionary biology, Himalayan travel and polar exploration, and archaeology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Archeological book for children also appeals to adults, August 31, 2000

By 

Author Bill Peschel "Writers Gone Wild" (Hershey, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding the Lost Cities (Paperback)

This book of archaeology's greatest hits is aimed at young adults, but it would be hard to imagine readers with a general interest in the science not taking to this large-size book with its plentiful illustrations, photographs and maps.

Because while Rebecca Stefoff tells the familiar stories, advances have always been made at these sights, so each of the 13 essays contain a familiar ring of the old shot through with conclusions drawn from the latest research.

And the stories themselves never lose their charge. Heinrich Schliemann's inspired use of Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey to locate Troy still has the power to enthrall, even as we deplore the methods he used along the way -- smuggling the gold treasures out of Turkey -- as well as the damage he did in excavating the site. Convinced that Homer's Troy was found at the bottom of the site, he carted away layer after layer of unsifted rubble to get there. As it turned out, Troy was older than even he suspected, and he ended up destroying that layer.

The history of archaeology is full of stories like these: Arthur Evans rebuilding the Minoan city of Knossos according to his idea of what they should have looked like (critics call his reconstruction "concrete Crete"); Colorado rancher Richard Wetherill exploring the pubelos once occupied by the Anasazis, carting off thousands of relics to sell to museums; archeologists in general denying that Africans were responsible for building Great Zimbabwe in order to fulfill their notions of white supremacy. But "Finding the Lost Cities" points out that time cannot support a story that is false, and that the truth, eventually, is sifted out.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding the Lost Cities, April 9, 2011

By 

B. Thomas "Survivor" (Springfield, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Finding the Lost Cities (Paperback)

I found this book to be very interesting. I wasn't interesting in a few of the lost cities but the rest were great. The photos were excellent and the text was informative. It was a great book.