A History of the Ancient World [Hardcover]

Chester G. Starr (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195066294 | ISBN-13: 978-0195066296 | Publication Date: March 14, 1991 | Edition: 4th

Reflecting five decades of teaching and research, and drawing on the most recent scholarship, the fourth edition of this widely-read history provides the same broad coverage, chronological framework, and absorbing literary style that distinguished previous editions. For the new edition, the chapters on early humankind, the section on the revolt of Bar Kochba, and the chapter describing the end of the Roman Empire in the west have been rewritten to incorporate the most recent scholarship, and bibliographies have been brought up to date throughout. A classic survey of history from the beginnings of humankind to the fall of the Roman Empire, Starr's A History of the Ancient World makes the latest scholarship available to the general reader in a lively and accessible way.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Excellent text. This work will be my core text for a course on Greece and Rome....Starr's solidity and conservatism make it the keel to our ship of history."--Jace Crouch, Oakland University

"Excellent general history. Starr's book is hard to beat for a well-balanced introduction to ancient history."--Paul Hazard, Saint Xavier University

"A sound, succinct, and comprehensive survey."--Rob Rice, University of Pennsylvania

"Starr's overview of ancient history is uncluttered with trendy drivel. It is solid and scholarly--a model of what a text should be."--Lorle Porter, Muskingum College

"Very well written."--L.F. Harwell, University of Mobile

"A classic textbook which renders solid service."--B.K. Young, Eastern Illinois University

"Good for upper division courses, thorough, sensitiive to new trend in historiography, nice level of sophistication. Not just another Western Culture text. I like this book."--Martha Rampton, Pacific University

"An excellent, well-organized readable text."--Richard Wixon, Lakeland College

"Well-rounded, thorough text."--Russell Lemmons, New Mexico Highlands University

"Perfect for a general course or sequence on the ancient world."--Charles W. Hedrick, University of California, Santa Cruz

About the Author

Chester G. Starr is at University of Michigan.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 742 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press; 4th edition (March 14, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195066294
• ISBN-13: 978-0195066296
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars breath of fresh air, July 27, 2002

By 

"novicaine19" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A History of the Ancient World (Hardcover)

This book offers an oversight to the basic developments in history: from the first appearances of human life, then culture, and then cities and societies. It gives an occasional glance to the east, but it's emphasis is tracing the development of Greek and Roman civilization. It is useful in its broadness, but potentially misleading by the same token. For the general reader, I would say Starr offers a decent rough comparison between different societies and epochs; thus enabling some concept of what made the Romans, the Greeks, etc different from the rest of the world.

Having been a graduate student in history, I must say that this book is a major relief. In Chester Starr, one will not find a paranoid historian, obsessed with political correctness and bent on thrashing Western history. He gives the Greeks and the Romans fair praise and criticism while not neglecting that these societies did not represent all people's of the earth. (Although, he suggests that the Greeks were devoid of superstition and the belief in magic, which I find hard to believe.) Global history is such a politically heated argument these days, that I would recomend Starr as the most qualified and balanced scholar for the average reader. Today, Starr is branded as Whigish and probably Eurocentrist, which is a shame for our intellectual conditions.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and Enjoyable, March 20, 2002

By 

John D. Costanzo "johndc" (Bensalem, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A History of the Ancient World (Hardcover)

For the casual history fan, like myself, this was the perfect one-volume history of the ancient world. It is a comprehensive look at the various civilizations that rose and fell from the Sumerians to the Romans. Starr gives you the big picture and puts the contributions of the ancient world in perspective.

It is written in a clear and concise prose style. There is just the right amount of attention to detail, but not so much as to make it tedious. It was enjoyable to read and I am happy to have this book in my library to keep for future reference for my children and myself.

44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "...Impressive, but not to be compared with Will Durant...", July 9, 2002

By 

Johannes Platonicus (South Bend, Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A History of the Ancient World (Hardcover)

Chester G. Starr's comprehensive volume of ancient history from the early achievements of man to the decline of the Roman Empire, is remarkable in scope, charming in its clarity, and as a whole, impressive; but it is not to be compared with the work of Will Durant. Like Durant, Starr focuses on the revolutions of history--which is the evolution of civilization--and completes his treatment of it in one 700-pg. volume. If we are to compare the span of time handled in Starr's work with that of Durant's renowned "Story of Civilization," then it may rightly be said that Durant took three-and-a-half volumes to cover the same period that Starr completed in one. This makes Starr's work more accessible to students looking for summaries, while Durant's is more appealing to accomplished readers, seeking more in-depth research upon their desired subject. Durant's always has a deeper feel for his subject and comments upon it with engaging philosophical insights, while Starr's narrative remains sketchy, and for the most part, humdrum. However, this does not take away from the fact that Starr's "A History of the Ancient World" is one of the most noble of its kind, for its consolidation of such a broad period has been seldom matched. The comparison with Will Durant is not to down play the worth of Starr's work; rather, it is to prove his worth, for every American historian looks to Durant as a source for inspiration, and as a model to attempt to emulate. It is an honor to be placed in the company with someone of the likes of Will Durant, much in the same way that every English historian is indebted to Edward Gibbon and Winston Churchill. His work is well worth its weight and renders itself as a carry-it-anywhere reference source for ancient history. The contents cover the Paleolithic and Neolithic times, to the early civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, and the Indus Valley, Minoan, Assyrian, and Hebrew, into the classical times of the Greco-Roman world, all the way until the fall of Rome and the dawn of the Middle Ages. The work also holds an abundance of maps, charts, and pictures, which make reading it all the more entertaining and fulfilling. The sources are analyzed at the end of each chapter, along with detailed bibliographies entailed by suggested further reading. This book is recommended.