This book is invaluable but dreadfully overpriced... The author however has written a totally accessible (and totally erudite) guide to the life and times of the much neglected Hittites. Trevor Bryce has a compulsive prose style and a confident mastery of his subject matter, which makes his exposition of a wealth of anecdotal detail a real pleasure to absorb. With brousers of the Ancient History sections of book seller's lists groaning at the sight of tomes about Tutankhamun, Atlantis and the New Chronology - most of which represent a triumph of style over substance - it is a great pity that the riches of a recent and new, factual, understanding about Imperial Anatolia are destined to remain a minority interest because of the pricing policy of the OUP.The second thing any genuine enthusiast for the Mediterranean Late Bronze Age should do is to buy this book, the first thing they should do is to buy Kingdom of the Hittites by the same author (similarly over priced, even in paper back, but well worth the investment).
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