The Age of God-Kings, 3000-1500 BC

TimeFrame #2

by Stephen G. Hyslop (Editor)

Excellent condition. No blemishes, highlights or damage to pagers or cover.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle East, World History, Mythology

176 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1987

About the author

Stephen G. Hyslop worked for many years as a writer and editor at Time-Life Books, where he contributed to a series of books on American Indians.

Reviews

[Nancy Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good general survey of civilizations of this era. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Sumeria. I've found Time-Life books to be excellent presentations on a fairly superficial level, most appealing to those like myself who are not "professional" historians but are fascinated by the events of the past.

[Tom Oman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book along with all of the others in the TimeFrame series as my initial introduction to history. They run from Pre-History up to the early 1990's in a chronological manner spanning some 25 volumes.

Reading this series will make your entire study of history much more meaningful and rewarding. It is perfect for anyone who needs an overarching understanding of how the different periods of human history developed and how each period and event relates to the next.

I knew almost nothing of history when I found this series of books and I thoroughly devoured them.

This series of books provides a fantastic blueprint of the history of the world. It lays out the chronology and the geography of the major themes and events of world history in a very coherent, organized structure. Using this series as a starting place, every other aspect of history you will subsequently learn about will only add to what you've read here as you fill out your knowledge. Reading history books is not necessarily meaningful or intriguing without the ability to place what you're reading into a wider context. After reading this series you will be able to understand any element of history much better by realizing how it relates to the whole.

In sum, I cannot recommend these books enough for anyone wanting a compelling and comprehensive overview of world history.

[Joan D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been my breakfast read for the past month or so. I like to read history but rarely go back this far to 3000-1500 A.D. This Time-Life book described the history of four major civilizations, the Minoans of Crete, the Egyptians from the earliest organization of their civilization, Sumer in Mesopotamia and broad coverage of the Indus Valley, southeast Asia and China. The Minoans were the most surprising. They were a peaceful people, and to quote the book, "Perhaps because of their isolation, the people of Crete gave far less thought to weapons and war than did their contemporaries in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Unlike the Egyptians, who covered the walls of their tombs with scenes of official pomp and pageantry, or the Sumerians , who left a visual record of their conquests, Crete's artists painted idyllic scenes of people at leisure or engages in sports. They decorated walls with pictures of flowers, fish, birds and dolphins. The Cretans were a people who seemed joyously immersed in the present, in the wonders of life on their small island. And when at last, after 1000 years, they succumbed to earthquake and invasion, they left no decipherable record of their history and few other traces of their times."

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that it was very good, and had historical chapters that showed the same info as other books. But there were some societies, where I wondered where did they get that info? They could have shown more about how a huge volcanic eruption in the mediteranean affected different societies and even brought about their downfall.
But by and large, I think that it was very good, and showed sides of people's lives in that time period verywell.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very informative read. This book belonged to my dad, and as a kid, was obviously way over my head. Reading it now as an adult, I am reminded of things I learned from high school in my Humanities class and Art History class by my teacher for both those classes, Ms. Garcia.

It focuses on the ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Mediterranean (Crete/Minoan), and Asia, specifically from 3000-1500BC.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice summary of events in this period, extending to civilization development in southeast Asia that was new information to me.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this as a teenager.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sort of a primer on the earliest "grand" civilizations of man (Sumer in Mesopotamia; Egypt of the pharaohs; Crete in the Aegean sea.....) but so clearly written and beautifully presented and illustrated that it should gain some new fans for ancient history (or maybe even archaeology), or just allow those who are already fans to appreciate these places all over again and wish they could step into a time machine.

[Frank Taranto · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of prehistory in five different areas. The first part is about Mesopotomia's rise and fall. The next part is about The Land of the Nile; Egypt.
The third part was about the Minoan civilization on Crete and then onto India and China.
There is also a small section on the Magaliths in Europe.
The book contained some good pictures of artifacts and artist representations of what some buildings and cities would look like.

[David Withun · Rating 4 out of 5]

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