Product Description

This profusely illustrated volume, the latest instalment in Thames & Hudson's bestselling Complete series, is the most up-to-date, comprehensive and authoritative account of the most important archaeological site in the world. Nine chapters cover the rise and fall of Pompeii and all aspects of its life, including reconstructions of the daily lives of the town's inhabitants, the dramatic story of Pompeii's destruction through the words of Roman writers and the spectacular remains of volcanic debris and damage. It is sure to become the standard account for tourist, traveller, student and scholar alike.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #153684 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Daily Mail
'Supersedes nearly everything written about the world's most fascinating archaeology site... lavishly illustrated...all Roman life in a nutshell'

The Sunday Telegraph
'A triumph... Beautifully written and magnificently illustrated, packed with fascinating information... Berry talks... with a unique vividness, depth and breadth'

Review
'Impressive ... a most valuable introduction to a place which never ceases to fascinate'

Customer Reviews

Book lives up to its title.
This is by no means the largest nor the most lavish book on Pompeii to appear recently. One of my bookshelves almosts sags and groans under the weight of the mega-tomes edited by Filippo Coarelli and by Marisa Ranieri Panetta (both highly recommended and containing breathtaking illustrations.) But if you're looking for one single handy volume that doesn't require you to pump iron before opening it up then this work has much to commend it. It's admirably wide-ranging in subject matter as is promised by the title, the articles are presented in digestible bite-sized chunks and it's profusely illustrated (although the photos are smaller and lack the impact and detail of those in the two works cited above.) Unlike some of her Italian counterparts, the author adopts a rather cautious approach when sifting the evidence and drawing conclusions on a number of subjects, for example: Was the rebuilding activity underway at the time of the eruption the result of the AD63 earthquake or more recent seismic shocks? Had the city post-earthquake gone "downmarket"? And what exactly was the date of the eruption of Vesuvius (the author suggests this is by no means as certain as the received date we encounter in most books on the subject.) Which all goes to show that after more than two centuries of excavation there is still much about Pompeii that we do not know for sure. Personally, I would like to have seen a few more pages devoted to Heculaneum and Oplontis, but in so far as the book promises the "Complete Pompeii" it does a pretty good job of delivering the goods.
Postscript. The date of the eruption of Vesuvius was recently the subject of an article in the Times. It looks like the usually accepted date of 24 August derived from Pliny is probably correct based on analysis of some garum - Pompeii's famous fish sauce - and the type of fish used in its manufacture.

An Excellent Account of the Site of Pompeii

If you require information about anything the internet has probably become an unbeatable source of knowledge but for me maybe I am old fashioned there is still nothing to beat a good book and this is a good book. It is full of facts and photographs laid out in such a way that they are interesting to the reader.

The main reason that I personally bought the book was that I had visited the site a dozen years ago and my memories of the place were starting to fade in my mind. As soon as I opened the book and the photographs of various parts of the site shone back at me from the pages, all the old memories flooded back and it was as though I had been there only yesterday. The book covers virtually everything that anyone is likely to want to know about Pompeii nd the surrounding area. Also about how one of the largest archaeological sites in the world is still developing with new things being discovered all the time.

The destruction of Pompeii is well documented, but little is known of the lives of the people who lived in Pompeii before the disaster. This book goes a long way towards telling the story of the unfortunate people who were caught up in one of the worst natural disasters in history. How they lived their lives, the work they did and how they spent their leisure time.