Atlas of Empires: The World's Great Powers from Ancient Times to Today (CompanionHouse Books) Comprehensive Resource of the Rise and Fall of Civilizations through History with Illustrations and Maps

I really enjoyed this book. The information was very good and the maps were excellent. It was very helpful to have the Kindle version because there were numerous occasions where I had to look up information and the Kindle's instant access to a dictionary and Wikipedia really came in handy.I will note that if you are using a Kindle Paperwhite, the maps will not be in color and you will lose a lot of valuable info. I used the Kindle app on my phone and a tablet in conjunction with my Paperwhite and was able to pinch and zoom to see the color maps and the small print was easy to read, especially on my larger tablet. It was a little tougher to read on my phone. I learned a lot from this book. Great book!

I enjoy history and the book is about the ancient Empires. It is well illustrated with maps and the print is large enough to easily read. The book is paper back so is not too heavy. It is in perfect condition.I do not buy books that I do not plan to keep and this is a keeper.

As described, delivered on time.

I ordered this book for our homeschool Ancient Civilizations study. This book is perfect for that. I love that it also covers all great empires up to present day. A great resource with detailed maps, great info, and beautiful pictures!

Very good writing and easy to read, an awesome history book

This should be required reading for every student in the U.S. Its no wonder it wasn't available in the States when I purchased it I'm sure the folks in goverment don't want us to find out they are repeating the same mistakes of past empires.. Get it read it and pay it forward to your friends.

Very informative, excellent maps.

In the opening pages of this reference work, Peter Davidson tells us about his friend who defined an empire as "murder, incest, and the wearing of expensive jewelry!""There is the image here both of glorious conquest and of power held over far-flung lands, and indeed this captures something of what we have come to mean by the term 'empire,'" Davidson observes, "But how, then, does empire come about, what forms can it take, and does it have a defining characteristic?"These are the questions he attempts to answer as he compiles information about most, if not all, empires that have arisen and collapsed throughout world history.He begins by dividing up his work into nine main chapters, beginning with early civilizations formed when the social construct of empire was a new concept. The first chapter, entitled "War and Peace", examines the contention between Sumer and Akkad, the rise of Egypt, how the attributes of a military society like Assyria could not achieve stability without advances in administration like those developed by the rulers of Babylonia, and how religion was used to forge unity between disparate peoples by the kings of Persia.Chapter two focuses on empires of the classical world including Greece and Rome, as well as Alexander's conquests, the Parthians and Sasanians of Iran, the Mauryas and Guptas of India, and the Qin and Han of ancient China."The story of Rome is one of adaptation," Davidson points out. "The early growth of Roman power sprange from a zealous and rapacious republicanism that eventually threatened to destroy the republic itself. Unlike Athens, however, Rome restructured to resolve the tension between republic and empire. Subsequently, Rome began to resemble the Persia of Cyrus and Darius in the measures it took to cope with its increasing size and multiculturalism."In chapter three Davidson leaves the ancient world behind and concentrates on what he terms "Empires of Faith", the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Abbasid Caliphate."All the classical empires found ways to supplement control by force with a measure of consent delivered by shared beliefs," Davidson explains. "As the classical world crumbled and people looked for something to hold on to, however, religious ideas promising salvation exerted a stronger pull than political ideas such as citizenship."Empires of the horse take up Chapter Four as Davidson examines the conquests and achievements of the Mongols, the later empires of the Chinese beginning with the Sui and ending with the Qing, Muslim India with the splendor of the Mughals, and the Ottoman Empire."The horse made light work of invading Eurasia's agricultural civilizations but building empires was another matter," Davidson points out. "The steppe riders faced the usual tribal problems of creating a larger community. They also faced the dilemma of what to do with the societies they conquered. If they destroyed they gained little. If they bent themselves to an alien way of life they stood to lose their identity."Chapter Five looks at what Davidson terms "Empires of Isolation." Three empires are examined here including Mali, the Aztecs, and the Incas. Davidson observes that the empires arising in Eurasia were ultimately linked by trade and religion but such was not the case in sub-Saharan Africa and in Central and South America. And yet, spectacular empires arose even without the use of iron and steel, draft animals or even the wheel, in some cases.Chapter Six looks at the first global empires, Spain, Portugal, the Dutch, and both Britain and France in the Americas."Managing such far-flung empires was a new challenge," says Davidson. "It was partly a question of money. To squeeze profit from the silver mines of Peru or the nutmeg trees of the Est Indies, ships had to be built, voyages that could take two years had to be financed, and things had to keep going at home."Chapter Seven examines the conquests of Napoleon, the development of Tsarist Russia and the rule of the Austrian Habsburgs."As much in opposition to French occupation as in sympathy with French ideals, national independence movements sprouted across the continent," Davidson observes. "The age of the nation-state had arrived, with first Greece, and later Italy, Germany, and others finding their modern form."The imperialism of Britain and Japan are examined in Chapter Eight."By the 1870s, nationalism had become as much a force to serve imperial ambitions as to incite independence movements. A second industrial revolution now gave Continental powers the chance to compete with Brtain, and , as the 19th century drew to a close, a single global empire gave way to a feeding frenzy for colonial possessions ending in the First World War," Davidson states.In the last chapter, entitled "Empires and Utopias" Davidson looks at the U.S., the Soviet Uniion, and the European Union. In it, Davidson says each of these entities were ultimately searching for a better world but with the world defined differently to different people with widely disparate histories.Like any good atlas, this one is full of maps I found extremely helpful in understanding the migration routes of various groups that conquered or influenced specific civilizations. There are other illustrations of cultural art and architecture. Davidson also includes an index and suggested readings.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. You will not find descriptions of specific battles or a comprehensive discussion of each emperor's reign. Davidson limits even the most complex empire to about four to five pages including illustrations. But, I think this reference work does an excellent job of providing an overview of peoples and forces that have shaped our world.

Well wrote and illustrated

Don't for one minute let the Atlas of the title put you off; for this is no atlas in the most common sense, but a truly fantastic and very well authored history of the nature of empire. Yes, there are maps involved, but they are but an aspect of this brilliantly put together book. In short, I can't recommend this book enough; not only for its clever approach to the subject, but also for its execution.Given how the nature of shifting empires, as well as the fragility of civilization, is so much to the fore in these times of recession and potential shifts in dominance between West and East, the Atlas of Empires is extremely relevant. Yet, an idea is all very well. But it's how that idea is executed that is important. And this study is brilliantly undertaken.On one level, Atlas of Empires is an overall study of empire-as-invention; yet, where is really does work (and is incredibly engrossing) is in the way it subsequently breaks human history down into a chronological run of empires rising and falling: How they came to prominence, ruled, thrived and prospered; but, just as importantly, how they came to dissolve and lose their hold.For me, where Atlas of Empires really works, though, is in its well-balanced editorial spread. So often with formats that work to the principle of a list, the list and a designer's fancy formatting take prominence, dumping facts and depth in the process. However, here the focus on what made each empire, not only great in itself, but also unique in overall context, is nailed. There are maps, showing how trade routes and military lines were run; a huge wealth of colour illustrations, and the general tone is never less than inclusive.In fact, I'd say Atlas of Empires is one of the most well-balanced history books I've read; where some history books can prove daunting, this study is a riot of colour, with many surprises in store.

When I ordered this book, I was expecting a series of maps, illustrating various stages in the history of the world. The book is more of a history in the style of H. G. Wells'  A Short History of the World  or  Outline of History , where the macroscopic elements are concentrated upon rather than the minutiae of kings, emperors and politicians.The illustrations are not just of maps. There are plenty of other full colour plates as well. Necessarily, when using a map to illustrate an empire, one gets just a snapshot of its extent rather than an animation to show its evolution over time.So, we have here an attractive short history of the world. In this field there are several competing products. My personal favourite is the  History: The Definitive Visual Guide - From the Dawn of Civilization to the Present Day , which is a far more substantial and detailed book, beautifully illustrated with both maps and other plates. Another book I enjoy looking through is the  Atlas of World History  by John Haywood, a true atlas in which each double spread is a map with notes. For an approach that relies less on illustration, there is the  New Penguin History of the World  of J. M. Roberts, though this concentrates rather more on European history.If you have an interest in the large trends of history I cannot recommend this book enough. For more detail, before settling down to studying a region in depth, the other books are equally good, though the Wells books are perhaps too dated now.A beautiful book that you will not regret buying! A Short History of the WorldOutline of HistoryHistory: The Definitive Visual Guide - From the Dawn of Civilization to the Present DayAtlas of World HistoryNew Penguin History of the World

This book provides an incredibly good source of information with which to, relatively quickly, cram any lamentable lack of knowledge of its subject into the interested reader's brain. It also functions as an excellent reference and the index is a good basic name index with a few subject entries, although some names, I noticed, are missing. A map appears on every second or third page (I read with a modern one at my side) and there are beautiful plates of relevant artefacts appearing with the same regularity. Following a chronological order, the sections are concise without losing depth of analyses.Peter Davidson's book begins in the cradle of civilization, Sumer and Akkad, where people's lives evolved from cooperative farming to hierarchical militarization over a period of some 6,000 years, and where leaders first learned the importance of religion to their authority. This was at a time when solar eclipses could halt battles. Mr Davidson discusses the moving forces of religious faith, commercial protectionism and national jealousies, and ends with the latest piece of empire-building, the European Union, within which the form of empire has changed. As Mr Davidson says, however, ghosts from empires past remain in EU troop deployment throughout the world as a form of policing and, obliquely, to protect commercial markets.As an eternal student of history, I find this book something of a blessing. It tells me, in succinct sections, the basics of how empires wax and wane; in other words the processes of commerce, cooperation, invasion, militarization, colonization and imperialism. To have some insight into these processes, no matter how ancient, helps an understanding of what is happening today.An excellent book.

This is a very attractive and well presented coffee table style book. It is colourful and vibrant and informative but without being exhaustively so. It is a pleasant read from cover to cover or for randomly dipping into.This book describes the fascinating story of how the great empires of this world came into being, how they thrived and finally fell from grace.The empires covered range from the ancient world, such as Egypt, the classical world such as Rome and Macedonia. The empires of faith are covered by such civilisations as the Byzantium people and is followed up with a discussion of the empires of the horse such as the Ottomans.The South American civilisations such as the Aztecs are thoroughly covered which leads into the global powers such as Britain and the Dutch, the Napoleon wars are followed the empires of industrial captialism such as Britain again and finally the modern day power structures such as the Soviet and European Union and the USA. There are many more that I haven't mentioned all given their space.This book tells the story of each empires progress and expansion through their own period in time and across the continents. This is illustrated by lovely colourful maps which gives the reader the opportunity to see the information in a visual form.The book also looks at the methods and tactics of the various rulers and how they kept the people in check and maintained control, it examines the military machines used to consolidate their power, the hardware and bureacratic systems are also closely talked about.The major events of each power block and their inevitable desrtuction form part of the narrative and how the effects of the various empires are still being felt today.The book comes with a dust jacket and the quality of the paper is excellent and the prose is concise, the reproductions of various documents and drawings are first class, there is a detailed index and a further reading section at the back and rounds off the book nicely.As a history book it is informative and invaluble, as book for a general factual read it's just as good and interesting.A winner in every way.