Antisemitism

This book has received some bad reviews on Amazon which are, for the most part, focussed on the last 2 or 3 pages where the author deals with modern day anti-Israel forces and separates these from anti-semitism. I too disagree with this separation, however that is a point for debate and should not mar an otherwise excellent introduction to an important subject. The author gives a fairly short view of medieval anti-semitism, with the first blood-libel occurring in England but most of the book is devoted to central and western europe and the differences between German and the other forms of Antisemitism. The Holocaust is very well covered as are the developments in the virulent Viennese antisemitism of the late 19th and early 20th century. This is a great introduction and even though one may disagree with the conclusion about modern anti-zionism it is a worthy member of the series.

Archaeology

This one doesn't really belong in this series. It should be a "for idiots" book. It is written in a jocular flippant manner that adds very little to ones understanding of the subject and, honestly isn't that funny. Of course along the way there is some good information here. It is, again, more a history of archaeology than a short text on the subject itself. The move from stratigraphy to todays techniques of mapping and reconstruction, the place of the discipline along side anthropology and the ethics of it all are covered.  If the cartoons were removed further coverage of some of these important aspects could be given, Instead there are many specially drawn full page cartoons and a lot of silly remarks and adolescent wordplays. The section on the modern and post-modern approaches is too short with little time given to a through analysis of the subject beyond the point that it is all basically a grey area and no one is completely ever right or wrong. The area of how to treat human remains gets similar short shrift. This book is in desperate need of a new edition.