Atlas of Empires - Hardcover

Peter Davidson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1847730647 ISBN 13: 9781847730640

Publisher: New Holland Publishers Ltd, 2011

Synopsis

"Atlas of Empires" tells the story of how and why the great empires of history came into being, operated and ultimately declined, and discusses the future of the empire in today's globalized world. Featuring 60 beautiful and detailed maps of the empires' territories at different stages of their existence and organized thematically to reflect the different driving forces behind empires throughout history (such as faith, nomadic culture, nationhood and capitalism), each section discusses the rise and fall of the empires that existed in a region: their government and society, wealth and technology, war and military force, and religious beliefs. From the earliest empires of the Sumerians and the Pharoahs to the modern 'empires' of the USA and the European Union, this is a story that reveals how empires are created and organized, how later empires resolve the problems of governance faced by earlier empires, and how the political and cultural legacies of ancient empires are still felt today. It is the story of how humanity's drive to bring peace and prosperity to a region vied with people's itch to dominate, exploit and exterminate. Fascinating and informative, "Atlas of Empires" is an essential resource. It is suitable for those interested in the history of civilizations and world politics. It is also suitable for students of history looking for a clear, visually rich guide to how empires operated and interacted.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Davidson is a freelance writer and has been, among other things, a restorer of antiquities from around the world, a writer and director of documentaries on World War II and related subjects for the History Channel, and a tutor on the Politics, Philosophy and History degree at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the co-author of Milestones of Civilization (also New Holland).

Review

From Broken Teepee History Blog:

My degree is in history – European History – but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a deep and abiding love of that which came before. Researching the rise, and fall of the Great Empires through time has a lot to teach us if we would only bother to learn. This book is not the type of book you just sit down and read as you would a novel or biography. At least I didn’t. I just kept it on my reading table and I’d pick it up, choose an era and get myself lost in the history. It is richly illustrated and just deep enough to stir the interest for deeper reading if an empire should intrigue.

As it is a book that covers so much you can’t expect a deep dive on each period in history but the book offers the most import aspects of the Empire’s timeline. It provides what you need to know so that if you want to learn more you now have a grounding and an excellent starting point for moving forward. I truly found it to be very well written and I’m glad to have it.

RATING:
5

Davidson does a good job of defining and describing key cultural characteristics of each empire and the inherent challenges their leaders faced. He also astutely defines the strengths and weaknesses of each and how these either helped it to achieve greatness or resulted in its ultimate decline and destruction.

Edition details

• Publisher: New Holland Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1847730647
• ISBN 13: 9781847730640
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 240