Reviewed with Adam Woog's A Cowboy in the Wild West .Gr. 3-5. These books in the Daily Life series may seem ordinary on the outside but inside they are chock-full of interesting tidbits and solid information presented in a readable, straightforward manner. Background in opening chapters flows easily into the details of everyday life. Readers get a good idea of exactly how people lived and why everything that they did, ate, practiced, or wore made sense in the context of their surroundings and culture. They also learn about the kinds of traditions they followed and the kinds of hardships and challenges they faced. Bold-type words are explained in a glossary; illustrations include photos, drawings, graphs, maps, and paintings. Appendixes include footnotes and a bibliography. Excellent for reports.

The ambitious series, illustrated with black-and-white photographs, traces how the legacies from ancient cultures developed. Boxed translations from ancient sources add anecdotal interest. Blatantly lacking are maps and an explanation of which calendar was used for dates. Chronology included. 'Feudalism' contains a glossary. Bib., ind.

NARDO, Don . The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Mesopotamia . 386p. ISBN 978-0-7377-3441-6 . LC 2006007296. ea vol: (The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Series). maps. photos. reprods. chron. further reading. index. Web sites. CIP. Gale/Greenhaven . 2006. Tr $76.20. Gr 9 Up These engaging and user-friendly books are well formatted and well written. Two neatly spaced, readable columns of text per page are interspersed with instructive maps, black-and-white photos, and other illustrations. Greece focuses on the politics, customs, beliefs, and everyday life of this civilization from its beginnings 4000 years ago until its eventual conquest by the Romans. Accessible, alphabetically arranged entries provide lucid definitions of key terms, thorough explanations of relevant events, and biographies of notable personalities. Examples include Aesop, the Battle of Actium, democracy, lyric poetry, slaves and slavery, the underworld, and the role of women. This excellent resource demonstrates the vital connection between ancient Greece and today's society. Visual aids in Mesopotamia are well chosen and relevant. The book covers topics such as social life and customs, geography, religion, political and military events, science and medicine; it also includes biographies of notables, literature, and up-to-date material on archaeologists who have made discoveries about this remarkable culture. Michael Roaf's Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East (Facts On File, 1990) is well organized and well researched, but Nardo's source is more current on archaeology. Each book includes numerous access points: useful cross-references, an accurate index, a bibliography with timely resources for further investigation, and a serviceable chronology. Hillary Jan Donitz-Goldstein, formerly at New York Public Library