Saturday, February 11, 2012

Mara, Wil The Mesopotamians


Mara, Wil   The Mesopotamians 
 Marshall Cavendish/Benchmark  2012  64p   22.95 978-1-60870-767-6  
secondary   E-BN        

 An overview of the life, times and technology in the Fertile Crescent (present day Iraq) BCE.      
      Nicely packaged presentation of the early civilization and technology of the area between the Tigris and Euphrates River, the “Fertile Crescent,” this book features bright illustrations throughout the discussions of everything from the creation of the wheel, to irrigation to transportation. Sidebars highlight interesting tidbits about technology in ancient tim, such as “To have and have not” (page 14) which discusss how the wheel was found in many but not all ancient cultures, an “No bricks for you,” which talks about the inequity of building bricks because of their cost. This author provides a nice timeline and glossary, and print and web resources, and is a well written and illustrated book. But, there is a disconnect between the vocabulary (which I feel is definitely secondary level) and the outward appearance of the book, which one would assume belongs in an upper elementary of middle school collection. In our district, ancient civilizations are discussed most in 9th & 10th grade as a part of World Cultures, so while I would include this title in my high school library it appears most juvenile.      
Technology of the Ancients (MC)     Five titles complete this series which is well written, documented and illustrated. Highly recommend for addition to ANY school library.     Iraq - Civilization - To 634  Lyn Fisher

 

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