"Civilizations of Ancient Iraq" by Benjamin Foster and Karen Foster, Princeton University Press 2012

 

Cover Image Princeton University Press

Ancient Mesopotamia, meaning land between two rivers, resides in modern day Iraq including parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran, contained many ancient civilizations such as the Sumerians and Babylonians. These ancient civilizations ruled the Fertile Crescent from 3100 BCE to around 600 CE. Ancient Historians have a plethora of primary sources written in Cuneiform on tablets, yet many of these tablets remained not translated. Many journal articles have been written on the subject of Ancient Mesopotamia with several books published on the subject as well, but the journals are more prominent in number and harder to obtain because of the expensive cost of the academic journals. The scholarly books are more affordable yet few published volumes are pleasing to read.  Princeton University Press’ book Civilizations of Ancient Iraq by Benjamin Foster and Karen Foster is the latest scholarly work to spread its knowledge to the masses.  Benjamin Foster teaches at Yale University in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations department.  As Professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature and Curator of the Yale Babylonian Collection, Dr. Foster exemplifies his expertise as an expert in Ancient Mesopotamia, especially in Akkadian literature with his earlier publication titled Before the Muses, a translation of a plethora of Akkadian literature sources. In addition to Dr. Foster holding a professorship at Yale University, Karen Foster also holds a teaching position at Yale University in their Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations department. Her expertise rises in Art of the Ancient Near East and Aegean. Both Fosters received their PhD from Yale University.  One would deduce from the expertise of Dr. Benjamin Foster and Dr. Karen Foster and the scholarly reputation of Yale that Civilizations of Ancient Iraq delivers as a cornerstone volume on Ancient Mesopotamia……

"101 Quantum Questions" by Kenneth W. Ford, Harvard University Press 2011

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Quantum Physics studies the extremely small aspects of our universe.  Throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, a plethora of discoveries has been announced from quantum physicists. Scholarly books accessible to the public on quantum physics are rare, though Kenneth W. Ford  created an   accessible quantum physicists books, 101 Quantum Questions published by Harvard University Press.  Dr. Ford retired as the director of the American Institute of Physics in 1993 and has worked at several universities in the United States including: Indiana University, University of Massachusetts at Boston, University of California, Irvine, Brandeis University, and was President at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Ford was educated at some of the best universities in the world by obtaining his A.B from Harvard University and his PhD from Princeton University.

Dr. Ford illustrates the complicated nature of Quantum Physics by setting up his book in question form, as seen in the title. Each aspect of Quantum Physics is isolated with its own question to help illustrate the complex and exciting particle world. Ford’s writing style guides the book along nicely with an even balance of science and history of each section of Quantum Physics.

"Gardens of the Moon" by Steven Erikson, Tor 1999

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Fantasy and Science Fiction provides audiences with a genre that forces its audience to image the world created by the author. Some of the most famous fantasy authors include: J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan, Raymond E. Feist, and Terry Goodkind.  Though the aforementioned authors are the backbone of excellent fantasy novels available, there are a tremendous amount of newer authors  breaking into the fantasy genre carving their place in the fantasy pantheon. One of these authors is Steven Erikson, the creator of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series.

Erikson’s first novel in the Malazan Book of the Fallen is Gardens of the Moon published by Tor, an imprint of Macmillan. Tor is arguably the best fantasy publisher in the world with works to their name include, Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time Series, Terry Goodkind’s epic series Sword of Truth and Brandon Sanderson’s novels. Erikson’s breakthrough novel brings a new face and style to epic fantasy that will grab readers and have them languishing for more.

"Sophocles and the Language of Tragedy" by Simon Goldhill, Oxford University Press 2012

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Ancient Greek tragedy recreated throughout the modern world has captured audiences repeatedly. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides works survived intact to be studied by a multitude of scholars over the years. Sophocles was one of the great Ancient Greek Tragedians who has been examined by scholars. Simon Goldhill’s Sophocles and the Language of Tragedy does not just add to the abundance of monographs written about Sophocles, it stands in the upper echelon of scholarly work on tragedy by one of the foremost experts.

Simon Goldhill is part of the Classics department at Cambridge University, where he is the Director of Studies in Classics at Kings College. Dr. Goldhill’s work is part of Oxford University Press’ Onassis Series in Hellenic Culture. The Onassis Foundation sponsors the Onassis Series in Hellenic Culture by  Oxford University Press. The Onassis Foundation helps spread knowledge through the United States and Canada about Hellenic culture.

“Princes and Territories in Medieval Germany” by Benjamin Arnold, Cambridge University Press 2003

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Medieval Germany, more commonly referred to as the Holy Roman Empire,  is an exciting region during the Middle Ages. The Holy Roman Empire first received its name from the time Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great or Karl der Gross, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor from the Church. Medieval Germany consisted of an extravagant  number of nobles ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Medieval Germany scholarly works are hard to come by since most, understandably, are published in German not English. 

Princes and Territories in Medieval Germany by Benjamin Arnold is an interesting and fundamental work for any enthusiastic party yearning to learn about Medieval Germany. Dr. Arnold is emeritus professor of history at The University of Reading. Dr. Arnold's fantastic work on medieval Germany illustrates a major question about pre-modern Germany's political history: why did a plethora of states and territories emerge at the close of the Middle Ages instead of a “nation state” under a crown? Modern day neighbors of Germany emerged from the Middle Ages as nation states under their respective crowns including Spain, France, England and the Dutch. Dr. Arnold explains Germany's detour to its present day state with a look at the different German nobles and relationships each noble class had with their king and the Church. Do not be misled by the title of this monograph. The book dives into Medieval Germany and it does not list the princes and their respected territories. 

“Roman Women” by Eve D’Ambra, Cambridge University Press 2007

Cover image from Cambridge University Press

Ancient Rome engulfs any person interested in learning about one of the greatest civilizations in antiquity. One specialized area of study includes how women in ancient Rome lived. Studying women in Ancient Rome is an unwieldy subject from the plethora of sources and examples from multiple classes including aristocratic, lower and servant classes. The most accessible studies that are undertaken examine women of noble or aristocratic status in Rome. Finding interesting and engaging studies on everyday life of Roman women can be hard to find, though the subject is increasing with more published works.

The Cambridge University Press series about the Introduction to Roman Civilization has some of the best introductory work on the market for any enthused reader on Ancient Rome.  The published work titled Roman Women  brings an unwieldy subject to fit into anyone's hands by studying the mundane and less exciting aspects of life for women in Ancient Rome.

“Physics of the Impossible” by Michio Kaku Anchor Books, 2008

Introduction:

The study of physics explores how the universe works. There have been many great contributors to physics including, Einstein, Newton, Hawking, Hubble, Galileo, and Maxwell among countless others.  In the second half of the twentieth century string theory was born. Current theoretical physicist and Henry Semat Professor of theoretical physics at the graduate center of the City University of NewYork Michio Kaku pioneered string theory. Dr. Kaku has taken his expert knowledge in the world of Physics and has published several books with many of them topping out as National Bestsellers. These books include Beyond Einstein, Parallel Worlds, and Physics of the Impossible.  Along with his bestselling books, Professor Kaku has also appeared on many television shows including the History Channel’sThe Universe and the ScienceChannel’s Sci-Fi Science: Physics of theImpossible. One of the many different disciplines in physics lies Theoretical Physics. This field incorporates far out ideas, from time travel to force fields. In Dr. Kaku’s book Physics of the Impossible, he explores many of the ideas that are presently considered sci-fi, but could one day become fact. Dr Kaku’s intriguing book, Physics of the Impossible, brings alive Theoretical Physics to the everyday reader.  The book covers interesting topics that will remind even the smallest fan of science fiction of the classic science fiction of the Star Wars Trilogy, original Star Trek or even newer shows, like the shelved Stargate series and Battlestar Galactica. Physics of the Impossible is a book every person will enjoy, while making your mind think of the endless possibilities of the impossible.