A Survey of Ancient History

The first third of the book takes a very broad brush sweep from palaeolithic age to the end of Greek civilisation. There is no mention of the rise of Mesopotamian city states and their impact on developments in Europe. The remaining two thirds covers the Roman empire with particular emphasis on early Christianity. As a result, the book feels unbalanced, even acknowledging the limited sources for the earlier times. It does take an interesting approach however in using a series of very brief chapters for each period discussed, covering a wide range from agriculture, economics, battles, key personalities, and culture in its widest sense (art and architecture, philosophy, religion, poets and authors etc). The parallels between the Pax Romana/decline of the Roman Empire with modern capitalism are particularly well-drawn. I do not know who is reading this (an omission I have found with many Audible readings), but the listener feels the lecturer is addressing him/her as the sole person in a huge auditorium. Pronunciation of many words, particularly people's and place names is very unfamiliar and difficult to a British ear.