For one semester or quarter courses in World Prehistory. Written by one of the leading archaeological writers in the world -― in a simple; jargon-free narrative style ―- this brief; well-illustrated account of the major developments in the human past makes world prehistory uniquely accessible to complete beginners. Written by Brian Fagan; World Prehistory covers the entire world; not just the Americas or Europe; and places major emphasis on both theories and the latest archaeological and multidisciplinary approaches. His focus is on four major developments in world prehistory: 1) The origins of humanity. 2) The appearance and spread of modern humans before and during the late Ice Age- including the first settlement of the Americas. 3) The beginnings of food production. 4) The rise of the first civilizations.
#813221 in Books 2014-03-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.40 x 1.00 x 9.30l; 1.05 #File Name: 0199987378272 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Confused Judgments on HistoryBy DanInsofar as this book is interesting; it is despite itself. The good part of this book is that the prose is easy to read; the history is sometimes interesting; and there are plenty of solid first hand sources used. The bad part is that the overall theory about how "how to understand your enemy" is both repetitive but confused. The random discourses into philosophy are not insightful. The author's interpretation and judgments of history are quite poor. Here is an example:Shore writes that Stalin couldn't understand Hitler because he was a "simulator" - which meant; he understood Hitler by simulating what Stalin himself would do in Hitler's position. But immediately after writing this; Shore details how Stalin took EXTENSIVE means to understand Hitler outside of this "simulator" model; in Shore's own words; all to understand Hitler; Stalin read Mein Kamph; talked about it with colleagues; read German history; read German military theory; and had envoys meet with Hitler. In other words; Shore misunderstands the history he himself presents; and forces the facts to fit the conclusion he wants. This is just one example of something he does throughout the book.This book is closer to three stars than one. There are interesting points made as well as edifying history. But enjoying and learning from the history layered over by confused interpretations of history is no easy task.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy bierhausserA wonderful and exciting book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy steve philibosianThe book was an intriguing attempt to develop a strategy for interpreting the motives of one's enemies.
