Sumer: Cities of Eden (Lost Civilizations) [Hardcover]

Time-Life Books (Editor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Time Life Education; illustrated edition edition (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809498871
• ISBN-13: 978-0809498871
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #877,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent treatment of a very complex subject, March 30, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sumer: Cities of Eden (Lost Civilizations) (Hardcover)

Textbooks on the sumerians are often filled with with art and fail to communicate the tremendous contributions of these ancient people. This book provides an objective evaluation of the builders of mankind's first civilization. The reader is left wanting to learn more about the sumerians who were the first to develop writing, wheel, law, school, war, art, cities, ..., etc.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars introduction into the origins of urban civilization., March 12, 2008

By 

L. Vierhout "noord23" (Amsterdam, Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sumer: Cities of Eden (Lost Civilizations) (Hardcover)

From 7000 to 3000 BC a transformation took place where a nomadic lifestyle developed into the first urban societies. Sumer: Cities of Eden gives a lively account of both this event and the adventurous archeologist, researchers that uncovered it. If you are interested in the genesis of city life, agriculture, writing and literature, architecture, taxes etc. this book gives a good introduction. Using beautiful photography of ancient city-cites, pottery, architecture and artefacts it draws a picture of early farming communities from the Ubaid period (6000-4000 BC) growing into cities, like Uruk (4000-3000 BC), were thousands of people lived and worked. This was possible because of surpluses generated by the agricultural exploitation of the fertile land between the Eufrat and Tigris (nowadays Iraq) This led to the first hierarchical structured society with distinct classes and a specialized workforce that formed the matrix for, and influenced every major civilization that would follow; from Babylonian, Persian, greek, roman, islamic to our own.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sumer: Cities of Eden, October 1, 2005

By 

Kat Smith "Gypsy" (Citrus Heights CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sumer: Cities of Eden (Lost Civilizations) (Hardcover)

Time-Life is always a winner. This book is great for scholars and for the average person. I loved it.