Colin McEvedy (1930–2005)

I’ve read several of McEvedy’s Penguin Atlases now and they’re all winners. If you’ve never seen one what you basically have is an outline map and facing text on each double page. The content of the maps changes chronologically as you read. The beauty of this is that you can see everything that’s happening on the continent at one particular time. Be ready for a few surprises as just a few hundred miles can make for wholly different cultures and stories.

Of particular interest was show more southern Africa. The stretch of time where nothing appears to happen is staggering. I was reminded of my thoughts on the British Isles where reading the Atlas of Ancient History. You suddenly realise how backwards and isolated the islands have been for most of their history with the delayed arrival of the Bronze and Iron

Ages, and the Renaissance of course. In southern Africa you have no metal working until the colonial period. Why doesn’t it transmit south along the east coast and then inland? This book does not provide answers. There’s no space for anything more than a summary of events and for this area, for most of the history, there’s nothing more than a vague indication of ethnic groups’ territories. There is no real ‘history’ because there was no way to write it down. This book is as old as me though, and perhaps archaeology has since shed more light.

A good format and a good introduction to the subject. show less

I read his Atlas of Medieval History last year so when I saw this I snapped it up. It's just as good. He is outdated on one or two points but you have the grand sweep of history from the Neanderthals to the last days of the Roman Empire, all told with personality and humour. I learnt loads. I never knew Europe had native silk. My favourite Kingdom is Meroe which never seems to either invade anyone or be invaded. Are we looking at the only competently managed place on the map?

A really terrific book. It's basically a series of maps that show, through time, the flow of power in Europe and the Near East. The text is also excellent, a real marvel of compression and not without the ocasional touch of humour.

I enjoy the Penguin format of periodic snapshot maps covering the whole area of interest. The mapping is not in fine detail, but if you are looking for an impression of what was going on at a specific moment, these books are good value for money. The ice sheet maps add an interesting dimension.