I think that, in order to gain an understanding of any period, it’s important to become acquainted with the scientific knowledge and technology that existed at that time. Here are some of the best books on ancient science and technology in my library. Here I can’t really pick out one as sufficient, but The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy by James Evans is a superb book, complete with observations and experiments you can do yourself.
The List
- The Ancient Engineers by L. Sprague de Camp
- Circumference: Eratosthenes and the Ancient Quest to Measure the Globe by Nicholas Nicastro
- The Exact Sciences in Antiquity by O. Neugebauer
- The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy by James Evans
- A History of Technology,volume I: From Early Times to the Fall of Ancient Empires, edited by Charles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, and A. R. Hall
- A History of Technology,volume II: The Mediterranean Civilizations and the Middle Ages c. 700 B.C. to c. A.D. 1500, edited by Charles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, A. R. Hall, and Trevor I. Williams
- The Origins of Value: The Financial Innovations That Created Modern Capital Markets, edited by William N. Goetzmann and K. Geert Rouwenhorst
- Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World by Lionel Casson
Full disclosure: all book links on this page are affiliate links. That means whenever you click on one, you’ll be taken to the relevant book page on Amazon. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission.
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