From Publishers Weekly
Beautifully produced with an exquisite combination of scholarly precision and the highest level of cartographic art, this atlas is one of the greatest achievements in 20th-century Greek and Roman scholarshipDand it probably will never be superceded. It contains 99 strikingly clear and precise color maps reflecting Greek or Roman presence in the ancient world and presenting the landscape, insofar as possible, as it was in those times. The maps provide locations for the sites of thousands of known cities as well as indicators of less securely attested areas of habitation from the ninth-century B.C. to the fifth century A.D. The accuracy of these maps has been made possible by developments in satellite-generated aeronautical charts and recent progress in computational power. The atlas's final production began in 1988; its completion involved over 160 scholars and cartographers (editor Talbert is a professor of history and classics at UNC-Chapel Hill). Readers can choose between a CD-ROM and a print version of the accompanying two-volume map-by-map directory that contains essential information about the sites and their topography. A gazetteer includes the names of and critical information about all the sites located in the maps, and the accompanying Adobe Acrobat Reader provides powerful search capabilities. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"[The Barrington Atlas] is the best geography of the ancient world ever achieved. . . . [I]t reveals the world inhabited or reached by the Greeks and Romans from 1000 B.C. to A.D. 640 in thrilling detail, and a color code lets us track changes through 16 centuries. The collective learning poured into this project is almost intimidating to contemplate, and the fact that it could be completed testifies to extraordinary planning, dedication and courage. . . . [T]he cartography is luminous, the printing superb and the binding strong and supple. . . . [T]his magnificent book is likely to become a powerful engine of learning and discovery for many years."---D.J.R. Bruckner, New York Times Book Review
"I doubt that it will ever be superseded. . . . [T]he clarity and sheer beauty of the maps in the Barrington Atlas, for which Princeton University Press and the printers in Palladio's Vicenza deserve the highest credit and praise, make the main volume a joy to handle. The fold-out of the entire ancient Mediterranean world, Map 1 'Mare Internum,' is to die for. . . . [T]his remarkable atlas . . . has made a major contribution to re-establishing cartography as one of the basic sub-disciplines within classical studies."---Paul Cartledge, Times Higher Education Supplement
"This atlas is an indispensable tool for historians concerned with ancient times. But it is also a source of great pleasure for the amateur, the lover of literature."---Bernard Knox, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Beautifully produced with an exquisite combination of scholarly precision and the highest level of cartographic art, this atlas is one of the greatest achievements in 20th-century Greek and Roman scholarship--and it probably will never be superseded." ― Publishers Weekly
"[An] essential tool for anyone interested in classical antiquity. . . . It provides, for the first time in recent history, a single bound volume that maps the entire classical world. . . . . Superbly edited." ― Library Journal
"[A] wonderful guide to the wordless lessons of antiquity. Everyone who studies Greece and Rome owes [the makers of the Barrington Atlas] a personal debt."---Peter Stothard, editor of the, Times Literary Supplement
"[A] remarkable achievement. . . . This unique resource is the most comprehensive atlas published on ancient Greece and Rome." ― Booklist
"[A] vast achievement. . . . Richard Talbert can be proud of his editorship: the collective effort, academic and technical, that has gone into the realisation of this gigantic project . . . almost defies the imagination. It is even more impressive in that his teams had to work virtually from scratch. Their chief goal was to fill a notorious gap, and they have done so with exemplary skill."---Peter Green, London Review of Books
"The Barrington Atlas is a major contribution to scholarship, extensive in scale, reliable and up to date, and so laid out as to be really helpful to the user."---Jasper Griffin, New York Review of Books
"[N]o decent academic or public library should be without this marvelous work. . . . [A] magnificent achievement."---Guy Halsall, New Scientist
"[A] definitive work."---Peter Jones, BBC History
"This atlas will be indispensable to scholars in classical studies. My only caution is that, at eight pounds, a sturdy coffee table is required for its use."---Judith A. Tyner, Geographical Review
Review
"Quite simply the most important and most complicated project to be undertaken in classical studies this generation."—NEH reviewer
"This atlas provides us with a vital missing tool. It is a model of creative planning, and will be absolutely indispensable."—C. Nicolet (Sorbonne, Paris)
From the Inside Flap
"Quite simply the most important and most complicated project to be undertaken in classical studies this generation."--NEH reviewer "This atlas provides us with a vital missing tool. It is a model of creative planning, and will be absolutely indispensable."--C. Nicolet (Sorbonne, Paris)
From the Back Cover
"Quite simply the most important and most complicated project to be undertaken in classical studies this generation."--NEH reviewer
"This atlas provides us with a vital missing tool. It is a model of creative planning, and will be absolutely indispensable."--C. Nicolet (Sorbonne, Paris)
About the Author
Richard J. A. Talbert is William Rand Kenan Professor of History and Classics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and current President of the Association of Ancient Historians. He taught previously in the United Kingdom and Canada, and is the author of The Senate of Imperial Rome (Princeton), which won the American Philological Association's Goodwin Award of Merit.
