Troy C. 1700-1250 BC (Fortress, 17)

CAUTION concerning this new digital Print-On-Demand version of the original 2004 edition! The POD version is literally a pale reflection of the original one. I bought this newer POD version - I didn't know it would be POD - through Amazon in Spring of 2015 to replace an earlier version that got damaged. I have both side by side as I write. All the color drawings of Troy in the POD version - starting with the one on the front cover- are bleached out and look like they were photographed through gauze. There is a noticeable loss too in the linear definition that separates one object from another. The black and white photos of the POD version, on the other hand, may have benefited a bit from having very slightly less black; the photo of the principal gateway of Troy VI on page 34, for example, and the rubble around it shows slightly more of what is in shadow than my older copy does. I also purchased at the same time in Spring 2015 Osprey 22, Mycenaean Citadels, originally published in 2004, and I assume the same thing has happened in my POD version. The color reproduction on the cover looks like it was photographed through slightly frosted glass and so do the ones inside.

I found this book to be thorough, concise, and comprehensive. It opened with an overview of the history of excavations at the Hisarlik site and the cumulative knowledge gained, as well as theories derived by the various archaeologists and scientists. The Bronze Age Mediterranean world was outlined for context, and the results of the most recent excavations not only at the site but the surrounding region were detailed with an informative text that managed to avoid being dry and pedantic. The accompanying maps, diagrams, photographs and illustrations were excellent, and contributed to a complete picture of the subject. Though a slim volume, it was well worth the price.

item as advertised

This is the best visual guide I have seen to what the fabled city of Troy actually looked like at its various stages of development.The text is fascinating, including the archaeological history of the site as well as a detailed look at the successive layers of settlement on the mound known as Hisarlik.The illustrations bring the text alive. "Troy C. 1700-1250 BC is highly enjoyable, but also scholarly enough to be useful as a study reference book.

I used this book to prepare me and then guide me on a walking tour of the ancient fortress city of Troy this spring and the book is terrific. It presents a concise and coherent discussion of the debate over which layer of the ruins was the subject of Homer's Iliad, presenting the evidence clearly and simply. The book has excellent photographs but by far the best feature is the abundant original art that shows how the city and the local geography looked during the Trojan War. I have read a dozen books on Troy and the Trojan War, and this one is the best on the city itself.

This slender volume of just 64 pages packs considerable wallop. The text is simple and to the point, providing a nice intro or overview. The color illustrations are exacting and do a terrific job of conveying scope and relative setting. The black and white photos are on the mark, too. They illustrate key points/architectural elements and are placed just where you want them. This is the only book of the series I have seen, but it won't be the last.

This is good beginner archeology. I was a little disappointed as I expected more of the Trojan story with Achilles and Hector, not all about the different digs and archeological findings at the site. All in all, though, a good start for anyone who would be interested in doing research on the physical side of Troy,

I find this book to contain much that I did not know about Troy and its people. Great pictures, good text and maps put the whole subject in to easy reading. I hope you also enjoy Troy.

This Osprey volume in the Fortress collection was an excellent addition to the collection, even if some might find the author slightly "over-enthusiastic" when assuming that the Trojan War really did take place and that he is in fact describing the "Golden Troy" of Homer. Essentially, and however much we (and that includes me!) would want to believe that the legendary epic story is historical, there is little evidence to back it up.Regardless of the author's assumptions, the book's structure and contents are fascinating and well-documented. The first section (The Story so far) summarizes the discovery and excavations of Troy, starting with Heinrich Schliemann in 1870 and up to nowadays. This is followed by a presentation of the nine cities that were built on Hisarlik and with an interesting - although a bit long - section on mud-brick construction since the higher part of the walls and most of the houses seem to have been built this way.Perhaps the best part of the book, in my view of course, is the section on the fortifications of Troy VI which is the construction which is the most likely to correspond to the legendary Troy of King Priam. Here the illustrations and the diagram of the fortifications on page 14 provide invaluable help to the reader in understanding how the fortress and the city were build and to what extent the fortifications were sophisticated and carefully thought out, as were those of other cities at the time.Then there is a "context section" whose purpose is to present what could have been the sources of the city's wealth, largely on the basis of Mycenean tablets found at Pylos and Knossos. Also included in this chapter is a short but interesting description of the Myceneans (sometimes also termed the Acheans). These warlike, brutal and piratical sea-raiders coveted above all the title of "sacker of cities", according to Homer. Hittite written sources and archeological destructions of cities over the period that historically corresponds to the Trojan War tend to confirm these activities. However, as the author does make clear, these were raids and surprise attacks, mostly conducted with a handful of ships, and not the major expedition described in the Illiad.After that, the reader is treated with a number of theses trying to reconcile Homer with history with regards to the Trojan Horse. Some are more far-fetched than others, perhaps, although there is no hard evidence confirming without any doubt what this device could have been or meant or whether it really existed.The final section of the book is focused on discussing the reasons for the attractiveness of Troy for potential sea-raiders and for showing that Troy VIH, destroyed around 1250 BC is the most plausible candidate for the Homeric Troy, assuming there is one.I very much appreciated this volume. For a more balanced and sceptical account of historical Troy, this publication could be usefully supplemented with Trevor Bryce's "The Trojan's and their Neighbours." Both, in my view, are worth five stars as they both present rather superb overviews of the historical and of the legendary city, but in very different and complementary ways.

Great series of books. I buy when I can get them for under a fiver, which is getting harder and harder. I must be less of a cheapskate and am sure they would sell more if they were cheaper.

excellent

I was expecting a bit more of detail about the fortress of the time. Instead they explain how mud bricks, or adobe, were done by several civilizations. It's interesting, but not what I was expecting.