Customer Reviews

Science in Ancient Rome (Science of the Past)

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One of about twenty books that we are using this year in our homeschool study of Rome, the single most disappointing book we've seen this year is Science in Ancient Rome by Jacqueline Harris. This one arrived two days ago - and it is full of pretty pictures. But that is about the only good thing I can say for this book.

The writing is at best very choppy, with little transition even from one paragraph to the next. Frankly, it doesn't read quite as well as your average Cliff Notes. The book is full of facts (most undocumented, many mentioned nowhere else in any of the other 19 books) - but those facts are not explained in any way, making for very sparse reading. Even the section on various tools used by the Romans is a complete mystery, naming tools that I've never heard of (and my Dad loves to woodwork, owns every tool known to man) with no further explanation at all, to say nothing of an illustration that might illuminate the reader.

I had planned to use other books in this series a bit later in the year, but unless they are very, very different than this one we won't be bothering.

Science in Ancient Rome is part of a wonderful series of books concerning science in different ancient cultures. My family has really enjoyed this book.