Customer Reviews

What Life Was Like: At the Dawn of Democracy : Classical Athens 525-322 Bc

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4 star:		(2)
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This book has an excellent overview of Classical Athens and Greek History. I especially liked the chapters on the different deities that the Greeks worshipped. This book is an excellent overview for those interested in learning more about this formative period in history.

I like this book.

However, it is not written at the adult level. It is written for older children, say, high school.

The earlier series (Time-Life Nature Library, Science Library, Great Ages of Man) were written for the college-educated layman. Their expressed purpose was to ignite a "second Enlightenment".

This series is subtly but definitely different. The very titles give the first clue: the Great Ages of Man has "The Reformation", this series has, "What Life Was Like {a bit childish even there} in Europe's Golden Age". Which one sounds more adult? Exactly.

So, the prose is well-chewed cud, suitable for minds which are not yet fully formed. Not simple, exactly, but lacking the occasional flare and more sophisticated vocabulary of their predecessors.

Additionally, there is a certain breathless quality to some of the imaginative reconstructions: Oooh, he must have been feeling this, or oh, it must have been a great moment, blahblahblah. Kids' stuff.

Buy them for the great photos and the good, solid information. But don't expect to get the same intellectual kick that you might from the earlier books. It won't happen.

I also didn't like the horizontal orientation of the books. These are books which do not fit comfortably in the hand. Yet again, quite unlike the earlier series.

Frankly speaking, if the data was not solid and if the pictures were not great, my trash can would be getting heavier.

I really like good, intelligent adult prose, and a book which is easy to read and hold. This one fails on both counts.

Buy it for the kids or the coffee table. That's it. Or cut out the pics for collage. ;-)

The book was in great shape and I am totally satisfied with it and the service in purchasing it.