Tracy Barrett

For fans of Joy Hakim's wonderful History of US series, Oxford University Press is publishing The World in Ancient Times, the multi-volume world history equivalent. . . . This series is a great idea.
— Home Education

An excellent, flexible series to introduce, review, and enrich history units.
— School Library Journal

A thoroughly researched political and cultural history. The writing is lively, often using humorous titles for chapters and sidebars: "Always Look a Gift Horse in the Belly: The Trojan War," "Everybody's Got a Sore Spot" (referring to Achilles). Extensive quotes from primary sources, attractive page layouts, numerous good-quality color photographs of ruins and artifacts, plus the infusion of humor make for a palatable, solid resource for any collection.
— School Library Journal

In the wake of Joy Hakim's fabulous A History of US, the publishers are pairing historians and novelists for similarly readable, meaty tours of more ancient cultures. Here, paying particular attention to the roles of women and repeatedly noting that the cultural and economic achievements of the Greek city-states rested solidly on the backs of farmers and slaves, the authors trace the rise and fall of Crete, Mycenae, Classical Greece, and Alexander's empire, interspersing topical chapters, illuminating side notes, and even an interview with a working archaeologist. Photos of artifacts and ruins, plus an admixture of carefully identified Renaissance art, support it all nicely. Leavened with engagingly informal commentary—"It's very tempting for someone who isn't governed by any laws to get a little relaxed about the difference between right and wrong"—and capped with substantial supporting lists of books and Web sites. . . . [F]or clarity, scholarship, and readability, it rises easily past the general run of assignment titles.
— Kirkus Reviews

This book is an impressive entry in a new series based on the premise of combining the expertise of a historian with the writing of a young adult author. Their goal is to produce an interesting account of history for middle school and early high school world history students. Using colored photographs and maps, the authors immerse students in ancient Greek culture covering such topics as Greek religion, wars, Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, Greek childhood, the women of ancient Greece, the arts and sciences, and medicine. Illustrations are primarily of Greek artwork or photographs of Greek ruins. The authors raise many questions about early Greek civilizations and provide a variety of possible explanations. This is not an attempt to glorify ancient Greece, but rather an attempt to present it as it was with good points and bad, such as the fact that defeated enemies became Greek slaves. The book contains many sidebars with interesting information. The book includes a pronunciation guide to people of the era and a timeline. This volume will provide a good resource for reports on the world of the ancient Greeks and is written in an interesting enough style to appeal to students interested in history for leisure reading.
— Publishers Weekly

With the continuing discoveries of archaeologists and researchers, history is constantly changing . . . and so is learning about history thanks to this series.
— Growing Minds