The Complete Pompeii (The Complete Series)
by Joanne Berry
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Book Summary Information
Author: Joanne BerryEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-11-01
ISBN: 050005150X
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Book Reviews of The Complete Pompeii (The Complete Series)
Book Review: Notably Incomplete
Summary: 2 Stars
Don't believe the title, this book is notably incomplete. This is not to say it's not worthwhile. What you can find here are edifying background discussions of the history of the archeological efforts, descriptions of Roman and Pompeiian life, a translation of Pliny the Younger's account of the eruption, and a lot of well-reproduced pictures. What is lacking is any coherent effort to relate all of this to the physical reality of Pompeii itself. The book does include a plan of the city. It explains that it is the convention to identify structures by Region, Block, and House Number. The plan does show numbered regions, but blocks are shown but not labelled. Houses and structures are a story unto themselves. A list of 48 of them is identified on the plan, but not in terms of the aforementioned convention but rather in terms of an orthogonally numbered list, presumably made up by the author, with no mention of why these structures have been singled out and no attempt to key these to the text. You can only find such passages indirectly, by looking up the names of the structures in the index and then referring back to the text. Conversely, if a house is mentioned in the text, it is identified in the text by Region, Block, and House Number (Well of course: that after all, as the author has explained, is the convention!). Thus, unless it appears also on the special list of 48, it can only be vaguely located on the included plan. So why is the book entitled "The Complete Pompeii"? Well, apparently because it's part of the publisher's series of titles on "The Complete ... whatever". The book should really have been called something like "Pompeii in Context". It does present a lot of interesting contextual information and does this job well. However, it is not suitable as a guide to the physical city. If you choose to try to use it that way, I'd suggest taking along some breadcrumbs.
Summary of The Complete Pompeii (The Complete Series)
A gloriously illustrated and comprehensive survey of the most famous ancient site in the world.
The dramatic story of Pompeii's destruction has been handed down to us by Roman writers, its paintings and mosaics have astonished visitors since their discovery in the eighteenth century, and its houses and public buildings to this day present a vivid picture of life, disaster, and death in a Roman town.Pompeii is not quite a time capsule, a frozen moment in history, but it is probably the closest we will ever get to one. This up-to-date new survey draws on evidence produced at the cutting edge of modern archaeological research, revealing how the evidence for life in this city was first uncovered, and how archaeologists over the centuries have unpeeled the layers that enable us to reconstruct Pompeii's history.
With its lavish illustrations, covering monumental architecture and inscriptions, shops, graffiti, wall-paintings, and mosaics, plus its numerous box features ranging from theatrical entertainments to water supply, The Complete Pompeii is the ultimate resource and inspirational guide to this iconic ancient town.
Among the many topics covered:
? how Pompeii was destroyed in the eruption of AD 79
? what we know of the lives and deaths of its inhabitants
? what the houses tell us about the people who lived in them
? who was involved in politics
? what can be reconstructed about religious practices 360 illustrations, 320 in color
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