Legend: The Genesis of Civilisation (Vol.2) Paperback – Import, October 7, 1999

This was actually my second copy... I read the first SMALL paperback until it fell apart. This bigger version was nice and it didn't strain my aging eyes!I discovered David Rohl by reading his "Exodus: Myth or History" . Than I bought "A Test of Time" and "Lords of Avaris".... Dave can explain things that us armchair historians can understand, and not being fettered with a PhD (Piled Higher and Deeper) we can actually enjoy, question and challenge our understanding of these things.I was always interested in History and read all sorts of books and PhD Theses' but No one ever connected all of the dots... They'd have a lot of detail on their teeny little area of expertise, or they'd have a theory that explained one mystery but couldn't account for a host of other problems. Rohl can play the detail game AND finish painting the rest of the picture. He doesn't ask you to believe him, but just shares the available evidence. Unlike the other dry History dept "where's my tenure?" guys, he's not afraid to take on the questions that most people leave blank...or snap at you when they are asked (St. Thompson Insufferus knowitallicus)Where did the Bible author(s) compile their stories? Are they wholesale myth, or is there something behind them?I'm a stickler for common sense... I don't like tin foil hat conspiracy types. THAT is why Rohl's writing is so appealing... In spite of the comments of his detractors (Like Pope Kitchen the Crusty) he backs up all of his assertions with research and invites you to make your own decision.He'll probably end up like most people ahead of his time...ignored for now, acknowledged later... If you want to read it now instead of hearing it from your grandkids, go and buy a copy! Not just this, but all of his books...They are a lot of fun and you might look at things NOW a lot different because of what happened THEN..... History is NOT what happened. It is our best guess about what happened based on the available evidence... Make sure and check it out...all of it.

Well, I certainly got pulled up short and once I started reading the book, I had trouble putting it down. I appreciate a well reasoned theory and all the effort that went into attempting to fit the pieces of a VERY old puzzle together. Yes, there are still some holes, but it was akin to reconstructing a face from skeletal remains. You may not get an exact reproduction, but can come up with a reasonable facsimile.We are a fascinating violent little species, we humans. Think things are bad in our world today? Try living around 1200 B.C.! Taking the whole of the human story into account, including the proto-men who preceded recorded history, it is stunning to me how relatively quickly we have evolved - with an astonishing propulsion forward over the last 200 years. Makes me wonder what we will be like 200 years from now, let alone 3,215 years.Bringing these ancients to life through his words, Dr. Rohl paints a picture of how these people must have viewed their world, lived and interacted with each other. It required not just the necessary scientific skills and required methodology, but the ability to think outside the boundaries set by the findings and interpretations of others.I feel for Dr. Rohl. New ideas are often met with extreme resistance. Politics, alas, is a force to be dealt with in every aspect of human life, not just higher learning. The innate lust for power and position is inherited from antiquity, which, in turn, derives from the very basic concept of survival of the fittest. We can see it clearly defined in the behavior of other species like baboon colonies, lion prides, and even birds and insects. Territory and position are the key words, and jealously defended.All the aforementioned aside, I am now a full fledged fan and can't wait to read his other books.

This is the book to read for anyone wanting to research the beginnings of civilization as we know it. Very well written book and it was a fun journey to go on with Rohl on these pages. This book with Collins "From the Ashes of Angels" should go hand in hand. I consider this a reference book now. I for one feel Rohl has hit on the real dates history and not what we were taught back in school.Great job.

A highly conjectured but reasonable sequencing of prehistory, based on information available today.My sincerest commendations, and excellent job.In a future revision, Dr Rohl may wish to clarify the origins of the Akkadian and Sumerian languages. Both contributed to the family of languages we call Semitic today, and even to ancient Egyptian. However, only one provided the main trunk of the resultant tree.Also, some connection needs be made between the Eden story and the languages question on the one hand, and the dispersal of peoples at the end of the last Ice Age from the filling of the Black Valley by Mediterranian waters. The spread of the Black Lake and transformation into Black Sea forced the lakeshore peoples to disperse, but I suspect they must have been all speakers of one language up to that time.