Friday, February 12, 2010

The Byzantines


Although Thomas Caldecot Chubb's book, The Byzantines, is out of print, it would be a good book for any homeschooling family to buy or borrow.

Mr. Chubb asks, "Why should you and I care about Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire?" Then, in only 116 pages, he proceeds to answer that question. The answer in a nutshell is this: "For more than a thousand years, it... carried the torch of Western civilization, a torch that had been given to it by the Greeks and Romans."

Of course, along the way we learn the history of Byzantium, about the people, about life there, and how and why the empire ended.

Included are a chronological chart of the Byzantine Empire and world events and a list of recommended books for additional reading. Reading level is probably 6th to 8th grades.

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3 Comments:

Blogger Sherry said...

It's hard to find good nonfiction (or fiction, for that matter) for children about Byzantium. This one would be a good addition to my library.

10:18 AM  
Blogger Laura said...

This book was a part of a series on major cultures of the world. Two other books in the series are The Sun Kingdom of the Aztecs, by Victor W. Von Hagen (which I have, but have not yet read) and The Arabs, by Harry B. Ellis.

Chubb also wrote a book called Slavic Peoples (which, again, I have but have not yet read).

10:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for this book rec. I have been fascinated by Byzantia for years and this looks right up my alley. I just ordered it from Amazon. Can't wait to read it.

11:50 AM  

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