Masada

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-The first three chapters in Constantinople set the stage for the main action, describing the growth and conflicts involved with the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire leading up to 1453. Masada's beginning chapters take readers from Moses leading his people to Vespasian's attack on Jotapata. At this point, the text becomes much more detailed. Each book opens with a map of the area under siege. The narratives read like textbooks, a bit dry at times, but the boxed sidebars enliven the topics with commentary and analysis of events in each chapter. Color photographs are plentiful and have good explanatory captions. The appended chronologies help to put these battles in context and the detailed indexes will be a great help to researchers. The material is often redundant, but students of world history will find enough here for basic reports.-Marilyn Fairbanks, Azure IRC, Brockton High School, MA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.