Man, John. Atlas of the year 1000.Harvard Univ. Press. 144p. illus. maps. bibliog. index. c1999. 0-674-00678-X. $19.95. JSA JSA - Japanese Standards Association. In this remarkable overview of the world's diverse cultures as they existed at the turn of the first millennium, the historian and travel writer John Man offers the intriguing thesis that the year 1000 or thereabouts there·a·bouts also there·a·bout adv. 1. Near that place; about there: somewhere in Kansas or thereabouts. 2. About that number, amount, or time. represented the first time in history in which nearly every culture on earth had a direct or indirect connection to every other. While Islamic traders in Baghdad were exchanging goods and ideas with their African and Byzantine neighbors, the Vikings were busy spreading their culture not only to the coast of Europe, where feudal lords and the church of Rome competed for dominance, but to the distant shores of North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. as well. There, native cultural traditions thrived from the northernmost Inuit, whose ancestors had long ago crossed the Bering Strait Bering Strait, c.55 mi (90 km) wide, between extreme NE Asia and extreme NW North America, connecting the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea. It is usually completely frozen over from October to June. The Diomede Islands are in the strait. , to the bison-hunters of the prairies and on southward south·ward adv. & adj. Toward, to, or in the south. n. A southward direction, point, or region. south to the great civilizations of Mexico and the Andes. At the same time, Chinese and Indian traders were traveling throughout Asia, spreading their ancient civilizations to the Indonesian islands and returning with rare spices to export to their neighbors in Central Asia and beyond. The deceptively de·cep·tive·ly adv. In a deceptive or deceiving manner; so as to deceive. Usage Note: When deceptively is used to modify an adjective, the meaning is often unclear. slender book makes ample use of colorful maps and photographs along with highly readable text to offer an exciting glimpse into dozens of diverse cultures as they existed a thousand years ago. A general introduction to each geographical area is followed by detailed, but never didactic di·dac·tic adj. Of or relating to medical teaching by lectures or textbooks as distinguished from clinical demonstration with patients. , accounts of the major cultural groups existing within each region. Curious readers of all ages can open the book at random to enjoy a fascinating and informative look into the human condition at the turn of the first millennium, while those with more scholarly interests will appreciate the extensive bibliography and detailed index that make this volume an excellent reference work as well. Among the historians and cultural anthropologists of the future are sure to be YA readers of today who were fortunate enough to be exposed to this well-designed and richly rewarding book. Jeffrey Cooper, writer/ Editor, Long Island, NY |
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