A Short History of the Ancient World

"Rauh's book offers an unusually broad coverage, taking into its scope the major civilizations of ancient Eurasia and Africa, and posing challenging questions about their formation, structure, values, monuments, and ultimate demise. Rauh's well-established expertise as an historian provides for a welcome, searching introduction to the connections and parallels, as well as the key disjunctions, betwen societies rarely treated together in textbooks. The author's presentation of the fascinating history at his disposal is judicious, clear, and incisive." William Bubelis, Washington University in St. Louis

"A Short History of the Ancient World is a welcome first choice for any aspiring initiate into ancient history. Relying on a variety of sources from legal texts to archaeological finds and fittingly illustrated with art images, charts, an maps, this book brings together and traces the development of all of the major ancient civilizations and allows us to see the many and diverse ways in which these civilizations continue to influence our lives. Rauh demonstrates, with detail and passion, that we owe much more to the ancient world than we typically might think." Sviatoslav Dmitriev, Ball State University

"Impressively interdisciplinary in its approach, A Short History of the Ancient World is peerless in its sweep and scope." Judith P. Hallett, University of Maryland