Description

Book Synopsis
Accompanying the major BBC TV series, Richard Miles''s Ancient Worlds tells the epic story of civilization, and the cities that made us who we are.

The path of human progress is one of enlightenment and cruelty, achievement and bloodshed, creation and destruction. Here Richard Miles reaches back into our distant past to bring alive its most glorious and terrible people and places: from the first ever city in Mesopotamia to the death cults of Egypt, from the Phoenician seafarers who invented the alphabet to the brutal Assyrian empire, and on to the great city-states of Athens and Rome.

By choosing to live together with strangers in vast urban settings, Miles shows, humans harnessed the very best and the worst of ourselves, setting civilization in motion and forging the modern world.

''Epic and compelling''
  Daily Mail

''An epic, spanning five millennia and half the globe''
  Daily Telegraph
<

Trade Review
Epic and compelling * Daily Mail *
Engaging ... full of interesting things about the radical social experiment of the city-state, and the new ways of living it permitted * Independent *
An epic, spanning five millennia and half the globe * Daily Telegraph *
Ancient Worlds really does put flesh on the bones of history and Richard Miles brings long lost cities to life * Observer *

Ancient Worlds

    Product form

    £15.29

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £16.99 – you save £1.70 (10%)

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Tue 9 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback by Richard Miles

    1 in stock


      View other formats and editions of Ancient Worlds by Richard Miles

      Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
      Publication Date: 9/1/2011 12:00:00 AM
      ISBN13: 9780241951361, 978-0241951361
      ISBN10: 0241951364
      Also in:
      Ancient history

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Accompanying the major BBC TV series, Richard Miles''s Ancient Worlds tells the epic story of civilization, and the cities that made us who we are.

      The path of human progress is one of enlightenment and cruelty, achievement and bloodshed, creation and destruction. Here Richard Miles reaches back into our distant past to bring alive its most glorious and terrible people and places: from the first ever city in Mesopotamia to the death cults of Egypt, from the Phoenician seafarers who invented the alphabet to the brutal Assyrian empire, and on to the great city-states of Athens and Rome.

      By choosing to live together with strangers in vast urban settings, Miles shows, humans harnessed the very best and the worst of ourselves, setting civilization in motion and forging the modern world.

      ''Epic and compelling''
        Daily Mail

      ''An epic, spanning five millennia and half the globe''
        Daily Telegraph
      <

      Trade Review
      Epic and compelling * Daily Mail *
      Engaging ... full of interesting things about the radical social experiment of the city-state, and the new ways of living it permitted * Independent *
      An epic, spanning five millennia and half the globe * Daily Telegraph *
      Ancient Worlds really does put flesh on the bones of history and Richard Miles brings long lost cities to life * Observer *

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account