Customer Reviews

Greece in the Bronze Age

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book should have at least one review, don't you think? I was a student of hers when she was writing it. It was the first of her children (she had two more) and she labored over it for more than a year in very trying circumstances. The problem was, she was trying to teach the Bronze Age and there were no syntheses in a field in which, unless you had the right connections, everything you did or said was wrong. She persisted. There are still no good rivals of this book, and the book is still an excellent overview. It contains no brilliant theses. There is much good realism. If you read between the lines, she foreshadows the later debunking of Schliemann, who planted artifacts in the shaft graves. She well knew that, if you contradicted the wrong people, you would, like Evans' master of archaeology, never work in the field again. But, she put excellence first and came up with an excellent book. The author passed on in February of 2001. I think we were all lucky to have had her for so long. She too is a classic now. One can only hope she knows answer to the mysteries she studied for so long.

Just go it! First impression is the true one in many cases.

Amazing book! Many of the history books are as dry as Sahara desert.
Others are filled with hundreds of pictures, yet provide very little in a way of decent scientific description. This one is fresh deviation from the two aforementioned types.

Couple of points to mention for curious reader's attention.

First of all the book DOES NOT quote Homeric texts -this is an original approach. Second - the book is compiled as fluent and impartial report on the territory, architecture, daily life, crafts, etc. It provides just enough color to illustrate the history but WIHTOUT imposing a visual impression. The reader is left to hers/his own imagination. Perfect!

This said many details presented as an impartial evidence corroborate Homeric information and provide fresh details of WHO, WHEN, HOW and WHY of the entire Mediterranean region.

Instead of supplying a boilerplate report "I own it" I highly recommend that every one interested in Mediterranean history should put Emily Vermeule into their list of must have authors.

One simpleminded suggestion. The author of previous report should consider taking modern information and upgrading his professor's book with new evidence. I am sure the original text would not suffer.

The reason for 4 stars rating is that book could benefit from updates reflecting recent discoveries. In 1972 I would have given it a 5 star without a moment of hesitation