Science in Ancient Mesopotamia

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-These volumes, remakes of titles from the "First Books" series (Watts), expand greatly on their earlier counterparts. Ancient Greece covers the ideas and achievements of astronomers, mathematicians, geographers, and medical scientists. In Mesopotamia, readers learn that the Babylonians created a symbol for zero and that the Mesopotamians were the first to use a number system to weigh and measure. A final chapter in each of these clearly written books does a good job summarizing the influences of these ancient contributions on modern science. Black-and-white and full-color photographs and reproductions, a few of which are duplicated from the earlier editions, are well captioned. Maps on the versos of the title pages are less detailed but more inviting than in the originals. Italicized words in the text are defined in an appended glossary. The lists of resources offer Internet sites as well as books for further study. These titles are useful for reports, and there's also much to interest science students.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI