Gr 7–10—These titles ask teens to use their critical-thinking skills as they read about legendary civilizations. A strong emphasis is placed on differentiating pseudoscience from empirical data as histories are traced from their first written appearance, through the spreading of the stories, to modern-day archaeological discoveries. What could be fascinating volumes are often bogged down by clunky in-text citations, poor editing (there are numerous spelling errors), and dry storytelling. The most readable of the three is Troy, but it is comprised essentially of summaries of the Iliad and Odyssey. Unfortunately, this volume is also the most affected by the serious dearth of maps-to be effective, a series about geography and history requires that readers have more than a mental diagram of the relevant areas. However, there is some fodder for reports in these well-researched books.—Rebecca Dash Donsky, New York Public Library
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