Rise and Fall: Great Empires that Shaped the World

‘Rise and Fall’ looks at nine fascinating civilisations which rose to power and influence. The real joy of this book is that most of these empires sit outside those commonly taught in the primary curriculum, enriching children’s knowledge and understanding of the world. For teachers, the book is an invaluable resource for adding some breadth to their pupils’ learning, enabling them to draw parallels, note similarities and differences and make them familiar with civilisations possibly unknown to them. For individuals, it offers a fascinating read which may well inspire further investigation!

The civilisations are presented in chronological order, starting with the Minoans, named after the mythical King Minos, who was believed to have ruled Crete and the surrounding area. Lively illustrations, captions and text over four double pages follow the fortunes of the empire from its origins to its decline. The lives of the people, their customs and culture, religion, art and architecture are all explored. Having visited that area, I found the information about the Mali Empire particularly interesting and enjoyed the section on the Kamakura Shogunate for the same reason. The pages on the Kingdom of Ayutthaya were fascinating- this really is a book to be enjoyed.

Personally, the font used for the captions which adopts the use of capital ‘R’ throughout is really annoying. I am sure this was chosen for some aesthetic purpose which eludes me, but it is not helpful. I would also have liked to see maps included, highlighting the location of each civilisation. However, there is more to recommend this book than not! I really enjoyed it.

Rise and Fall: Great Empires that Shaped the World

Peter Allen

Cicada ISBN: 978-1800660489