Having been quite impressed by one of Grant's Roman Empire books, I had high expectations for this book -- expectations which (excepting maybe the chapter on Herod) were not met. The problem is this: Grant had abundant source material for his Roman books, so he can give a seemingly accurate description of imperial Rome. But for most of Israel's history up to about 100 BC or so, there is almost no source material other than the Bible. Thus, you can't even try to interpret Hebrew history before 100 without intelligently explaining your view on the truth (or lack of same) of the Hebrew Bible (or as Christians call it, the Old Testament). So to intelligently discuss what might have happened, you have to show some understanding of the theological issue -- and Grant, being a historian and not a theologian, doesn't even try to do so. Unfortunately, Grant just assumes the truth of one view (the "Documentary Hypothesis" -- i.e., that the Bible was written by a wide variety of people rather than being transmitted by God to Moses and the prophets) rather than arguing the point, so his interpretations are useless to anyone but hardened secularists. I gave this book two stars instead of one only because Grant does have some interesting tidbits about various minor points (e.g. minor similarities between early Judaism and paganism).

This is an excellent resource on understanding the history of Israel following the text of the Hebrew Bible. Michael Grant is a superb writer, who conveys a solid knowledge of the Hebrew Bible, Jewish history, and commentary in a single accessible, and enjoyable text. A must read for teachers both academic and religious.

Michael Grant is a peerless writer on the ancient world. His earlier book on King Herod was superb. This comprehensive review of the history of Israel is the best thing of its kind I have ever seen. I am ordering a copy for myself even before finishing it. It will be a key reference book and essential background preparation for my own book in progress about early Christianity. Michael Grant knows how to write. And he covers all essential points in clear and insightful fashion.

This book provoked many feelings, from curiosity to hate. Perhaps this is just what Michael Grant expected or wanted. He should be commended for taking on such a controversial subject. The inclusion of works other than the Bible, however, would have given the book a greater historical impact. Unfortunately, Michael Grant fails to follow his original thesis of fully explaining the Gospels in a historically correct fashion. The one constant in the book is Grant's writing style, it reads easily. Read the book it will either make one a better Christian or cause one to seek a new religion either way it will be an experience.

I ran across this book while looking for the Jesus Seminar series. I decided to pick this one up to compare with the JS books, and it compares favorably. It is written in a much more "approachable" fashion than the JS works, and Grant seems to recognize the fine line he treads between historical research into Jesus' life and offending Christians' beliefs. As a history buff I found it intriguing, and I will look for more books in this line--fact-based historical research without a political or religious agenda. I find it interesting that some Christians are offended by revelations into the historical acts of Jesus, or the differentiation between his acts and the works of the founders of the Christian church some years later. An honest attempt to research the actual mission of Jesus should only help scholars & Christians better understand him.

Grant has managed to treat the life of Jesus as one would treat any historical figure. He has sidestepped centuries of interpretation and misinterpretation, and presents a portrait of Jesus based on the actual historical evidence. It is not the Jesus we are used to, and Grant's own interpretations challenge many common assumptions

Easily the best book on the subject. In typical Grant style he brings yet another ancient history topic to the masses. This book is easy to read and has a pretty good black and white photo insert. The outlines and graphs of the various homes in Pompeii and Ercolano are very well done. Grant goes into detail about the history of the region around southern Italy (not just Pompeii) which is helpful in understanding the urban development of ancient cities like Pompeii. He sheds light on every day life in Pompeii including chapters on the layouts of homes, the importance of gardening in ancient Italy, religious life, political life, and sports. He mixes primary and secondary sources very well. Primary sources include letters written by witnesses of the great eruption including a very important one written by someone witnessing everything from a ship on the sea. A great book by a great historian.

This book still leaves something to be desired (colour illustrations, for example), but overall, it's a must for anyone interested in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Michael Grant has built up a well-deserved reputation as a popular historian, chiefly on his excellent use of the English language as a medium for communicating with a wide audience; by this I mean that his writing is as close to colloquial as possible without sounding unprofessional. "Cities of Vesuvius" benefits from this as much as from his expertise as a classical historian.

The book is shorter than one might expect (barely 170 pages from cover to cover), but it packs a lot of information about Roman life in 79 AD as explained within the context of the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the subsequent destruction of surrounding communities. Detailed maps of Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as floor plans of major buildings, make it easier to put everything in its proper place. What makes the text even more interesting is the inclusion of quotations from the graffiti scrawled all over the walls of both cities (including a brief but scathing remark from a customer about his inn-keeper's wine). Unfortunately, the material in this book is vintage 1971 -- the copies for sale are of a 2001 reprint -- and I could only hope that a new edition, incorporating the latest discoveries and scholarship, will come out soon.

Initially I was flabbergasted that anyone would reprint this epic work from 1879. I have the original two-volume set and in its original form it is dated, to say the least. The voluminous set contained so much filler material that it resembled an elaborate travelogue when General and Mrs. Grant appear only occasionally. In thousands of pages of text and line drawings, Grant appears in only 25% of the total pages.

However, this new edition is edited by Michael Fellman and he does quite a nifty job in eliminating the extraneous material and retaining the essentially great elements of Young's original volumes. The heart of the book is Grant's table talk, where he spoke with rare candor about some of his civil war contemporaries such as Lee, Longstreet, Jackson, Sheridan and Sherman. These comments still resonate today, and rarely did Grant speak about these men at such length or with such perception.

John Russell Young idolized Grant and saw in him the qualities that make him the quintessential American hero. Grant was a bashful, hopelessly naive and honest man, and these traits come through in this work, illuminating his wry humor and extremely likeable character. Fellman has done well in editing this new version which focuses the reader on Grant and not trivial details about flowers, luggage or place settings. A nice book!

In this fine anthology of some of the best Latin literature that has come down to us from the past 2 millenia,one can discern the approach that shies away from the mythological addled inspired narratives of it's Greek predecessors paving the way for a more hands-on,practical approach to life & art.The Romans did not have the depth & sublimity of the Greeks,& they greatly borrowed from them;but what they had was the marked transition that shifted the course of western literature from the dominantly religious & mystic inspired experiences to a stripped-down,less effusive & flowery engraved style of writing which is more closely akin to our own.And with Suetonius,we probably have the first example of tabloid sensationalism at it's finest."Star" magazine nearly 2,000 years ago!!!.

What particularly dominates here are the histories,& what makes this book compelling reading is the individual styles of most of the historians.Their topics are no less interesting.But it's the best of their poets & the writers in the Republican era as a whole who I consider to leave the greatest impression.Lacking in broader & more commanding scope compared to their great precursors,the Romans nevertheless added a new style into history's foray headed to our own.

Grant Michael's Stan Kraychek (Nancy Drew with a curling iron) sets off for a summer opera fest with a wild cast of characters, some of them charming and some darker and more disagreeable. Three deaths later, and of course our Stan gets embroiled in solving the mystery. Actually, the mystery isn't that complicated, but Michaels brings his unique point of view and superb style of descriptive writing to the effort and the result is a very enjoyable read. While not as gripping as some of the earlier stories in terms or pure who-done-it, you'll enjoy this one, whether you like opera or not.

Michael Grant begins with the battle for Troy, a war so epic that the gods themselves descended into the field of battle. From there we learn of Odysseus, Dido and Aeneas, Jason, Apollo, Diana, Zeus and Hera, Ulysses and the rape of the Sabine women. Invaluable either as a reference source or as a means of reading the tales of the ancients.

Although a little outdated now, this is a wonderful book about different periods of Ancient History and how new Archeological techniques have helped discover new details from each period discussed.

This book is very funny and right on the mark. It is a book of sentences about the ideal man.

I found this book very user-friendly. You can look up scholarships by state, county, company, major, GPA, religious affiliation, etc. The only problem I found was that most of them are so specific that I didn't qualify for very many. As a 22-yr. old white female, graduated valedictorian of my high school class, and maintain over a 3.0 right now, I guess I expected to find more than I did. And most of what I found, I had already found on some online searches. This book has so much information, so it will be different for each person.

I was checking to see if there was a new edition of the Scholarship Book, and I was surprised by someone's review that it wasn't useful to people with Internet access. I have tried to use the online search engines for funding, but a lot of the organizations that came up for me were completely wrong. And out of the ones that I seemed eligible for, many came back with no forwarding address. While online searches are a good idea in theory, it doesn't work if the information isn't updated. I found this book much more useful. I was able to look up in the index what I qualified for, and only one place I wrote to came back as a wrong address. When I called the number listed in the book, I was able to get the current information. I'm still waiting to hear if I get any money for school, but I think this is a great book with a lot of opportunities listed.

I gave The Scholarship Book to my nephew in high school, who wants to be an artist, and he found a lot of places with contests or awards that he could apply to. There is a lot of good information, and I recommend it to anyone going to college.