In this fascinating book, the brilliant Isaac Asimov tells the story of the land between two rivers—the valley of the Tigris and the Euphrates—where Western civilization began and civilization goes on today in the troubled Near East. The history is a rich and varied one. It was here that the first alphabet was born, that laws were first made public (so the judged could judge the judge), and given a permanence (the stone pillar with its message exists to this day). It was here that great civilizations came and went: the Mesopotamians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Persians. Peoples borrowed and built upon and influenced, but all had (and have) in common the rivers and the land.Isaac Asimov who enjoys an unparalleled reputation as a writer of science, both fiction and nonfiction, has received a warm, critical welcome as a writer of history. For, to his recounting the affairs of men and politics, he brings his same gift for lively, lucid prose and his own infectious enthusiasm.Dr. Asimov began his histories with THE GREEKS: A GREAT ADVENTURE and followed with THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, THE ROMAN EMPIRE and THE EGYPTIANS. Now with THE NEAR EAST: 10,000 YEARS OF HISTORY, he rounds out his unique coverage of the great Mediterranean civilizations.