Science in Ancient Mesopotamia (Science of the Past) (School & Library Binding)

by Carol Moss (Author) "Mesopotamia means "between the rivers..." (more)
Key Phrases: clay tablets

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-These volumes, remakes of titles from the "First Books" series (Watts), expand greatly on their earlier counterparts. Ancient Greece covers the ideas and achievements of astronomers, mathematicians, geographers, and medical scientists. In Mesopotamia, readers learn that the Babylonians created a symbol for zero and that the Mesopotamians were the first to use a number system to weigh and measure. A final chapter in each of these clearly written books does a good job summarizing the influences of these ancient contributions on modern science. Black-and-white and full-color photographs and reproductions, a few of which are duplicated from the earlier editions, are well captioned. Maps on the versos of the title pages are less detailed but more inviting than in the originals. Italicized words in the text are defined in an appended glossary. The lists of resources offer Internet sites as well as books for further study. These titles are useful for reports, and there's also much to interest science students.
Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
Describes the enormous accomplishments of the Sumerians and Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia in every scientific area, a heritage which affects our own everyday lives.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• School & Library Binding: 63 pages
• Publisher: Franklin Watts; Revised edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531203646
• ISBN-13: 978-0531203644
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,281,288 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, June 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Science in Ancient Mesopotamia (Paperback)

The editorial review of this series from School Library Journal is wrong. The new editions of these books do not "expand greatly" on the original 1988 editions; they greatly contract. The 1988 edition of the books on Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia had eight chapters and 92 pages. This new edition gives them only only six chapters and 64 pages, and the word count per page is reduced. Indeed color pictures and illustrations were added and the glossary expanded, but the text is reduced to about two thirds of the original. Students are better off reading the original editions in the Watts "First Book" series.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pretty pictures, but not much text, January 22, 2001

By	Kurt A. Johnson (Marseilles, Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book is part of the Science of the Past series. This book examines the Mesopotamians' knowledge of medicine, mathematics, astronomy and metallurgy. It concludes with a glossary, and a list of Internet sites.

This book is very short indeed, the main body being a mere 40 pages long, including some pages that are mostly taken up by pictures, but excluding the glossary and so forth. The pictures are excellent, and the information seems to be correct. However, this book is rather too short to provide much information. Overall, I do not recommend this book.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The photos are fantastic!, April 2, 2008

By	Diane B. Goodpasture "www.betzalelstudio.com" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Science in Ancient Mesopotamia (Paperback)

It is very short but contains a lot of interesting facts. As for that reviewer who complained about how short it is, while it could have been a bit longer, it is after all a book written for upper elementary and lower middle school students. I also think it would be a good book for someone who is learning English. One thing I found odd was that while there is a photo of an ancient Mesopotamian temple and a very detailed description of what is obviously a ziggurat the author never uses that word and it's not in the glossary. The ziggurat has come to be symbol of ancient Mesopotamia. He also doesn't mention the Tower of Babel which is Mesopotamia's most famous ziggurat.