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The
Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found (preorder now;
to be published November 2008)
The eruption of
Vesuvius in AD 79 is only part of the Pompeii's story.
In The Fires of Vesuvius, acclaimed historian Mary
Beard makes sense of the remains. She explores what kind of
town it was—more like Calcutta or the Costa del Sol?—and
what it can tell us about “ordinary” life there. From sex
to politics, food to religion, slavery to literacy, Beard
offers us the big picture even as she takes us close enough to
the past to smell the bad breath and see the intestinal
tapeworms of the inhabitants of the lost city. She resurrects
the Temple of Isis as a testament to ancient multiculturalism.
This book shows us how much more and less there is to Pompeii
than a city frozen in time as it went about its business on 24
August 79.
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Although
the two covers are exactly alike, the books are very different
and each worth owning.
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The
Complete Pompeii is an excellent resource
guide to the ancient town. 360 illustrations (320 in color),
this volume is thorough and very impressive. Highly,
highly recommended!
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Pompeii
Awakened presents
a thorough background to the ancient site and fills in many obscure
details about its rediscovery, including what happened to Pompeii
during Mussolini's rise and fall from power. Excellent!
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Other
Books: For
Adults and Guided Student Research
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Vesuvius
A.D.79 The clearest
and most scientific account of what really happened when Vesuvius erupted. Detailed
information and pictures about the discovery of human remains. Highly
recommended!
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Cities
of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum This book presents a
picture of life at the time Vesuvius erupted in a clear and vivid account:
nonfiction that reads like a novel. Highly recommended!
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Pompeii
is the book that came from a BBC documentary about the ancient city (and
also shown on the Discovery Channel in the US). This book provides a
massive amount of detail about the city before, during and after the
eruption of Vesuvius. Not to be missed!
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Ghosts
of Vesuvius : A New Look at the Last Days of Pompeii, How Towers Fall, and
Other Strange Connections
A strange, but fascinating look at Pompeii, the twin towers, and other
connections. The author relates many Pompeii stories, rarely written
elsewhere.
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Pompeii
: The Living City recreates
the bustling life of this Roman town, as well as the eruption
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Pompeii
is
a very readable novel about life leading
up to (and including) the eruption. Recommended for those wanting to
learn more about Pompeii through fiction!
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The Lost World of Pompeii
contains an excellent account of the eruption as
well as the excavations. It also includes more than 150 new
photographs. Published in association with the World Monuments Fund.
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Pompeii
Written by the superintendent of the ruins (with
others), this excellent guidebook is the perfect reference for anyone who wants more
information about the buildings and discoveries at Pompeii.
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Pompeii
by Alison Cooley examines the impact of science, archaeology, and
politics upon interpretations of Pompeii over the last 250 years,
including the ways in which vulcanology has transformed our picture
of its last moments.
Also by the same author is
Pompeii:
A Sourcebook which is
designed more for students and provides excerpts from primary
sources on Pompeii.
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Women
and Beauty in Pompeii explores the nature of female beauty in
ancient Rome by studying depictions of women in Pompeii art.
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Gladiators
at Pompeii
Well-written look at the details of gladiator combat in general as well as the spectacles at
Pompeii. Includes a few pages about female gladiators.
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 And don't forget
Herculaneum, Pompeii's neighboring city. One of the best books on
the subject, good for both teens and adults, is The
Town of Hercules: A Buried Treasure Trove. Clearly written, and
well-illustrated, it explains what happened when Vesuvius erupted
and the results of archaeological excavations: not only the
artifacts but what the discoveries have revealed about the lives of
both the wealthy and working people. An earlier edition by the same author is Herculaneum:
Italy's Buried Treasure. Either one is highly recommended!
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Other Books: For
Children
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Bodies
from the Ash tells
the story of the victims of Pompeii. After Mt. Vesuvius 
erupted on August
24 and 25, AD 79, Pompeii lay buried until 12 feet of volcanic ash and
debris for the next 1700 years. Some attempts were made to excavate the
town, but no one was certain of its exact location. Finally, in the
mid-1700s, the town was rediscovered. Along with the desired treasures
(statues, marble, jewelry) that excavators sought for wealthy patrons,
workers also uncovered many skeletons of people who could not escape. At
first, these skeletons were placed in locations within the Pompeian ruins
as curiosity objects. Later, under the direction of Giuseppe Fiorelli, the
hollow space around some skeletons was used as a mold. Workers poured
plaster of Paris into the cavity; when the outer shell of the mold
was chipped away, the plaster body of a person remained—an imprint of
that person’s last moment alive. By
studying these individuals and the possessions that they had with them,
Fiorelli and later scientists attempted to piece together their stories.
Some 50 photographs illustrate the
book, many of them rare and many from the photography archives of the
Pompeii Archaeological Site.
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Ashen
Sky: The Letters of Pliny The Younger on the Eruption of Vesuvius
a well-illustrated version of the letters which offer the only eyewitness
account to have survived the eruption
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Pompeii
(Roman World)
takes young readers into the real world of
Pompeiians: their homes (furniture, jewelry, clothing) and their
shops and other buildings, including the gladiators' arena.
Well-illustrated.
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In
Search of Pompeii covers the territory
of Pompeii with well-crafted drawings.
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Pompeii...Buried
Alive! (Step-Into-Reading, Step 4)
is a good introduction for
beginning readers who want to know about the famous tragedy.
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The
Pirates of Pompeii is part of the Roman
Mysteries fiction series. This fast paced book will appeal to kids who
like their history in more dramatic doses.
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Escape
from Pompeii
gives a shorter fictional account of the tragedy at Pompeii with
vivid illustrations. Amazon says:
"this
story makes an exciting introduction to a fascinating subject."
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- Two books by Mary Pope Osborne
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Pompeii:
Lost and Found A
perfect introduction to Pompeii for children in grades 2-4.
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Vacation
Under The Volcano
A fanciful look at Pompeii for kids
who enjoy the Magic Treehouse series.
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 The
Buried City of Pompeii: Picture Book
A compelling
account, partly told in an imaginary first-person of the two days
that Vesuvius erupted. Many factual sidebars are included,
bringing kids up-to-date with the latest research. Excellent photos
and drawings enhance the text.
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Periodicals about
Pompeii
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National Geographic (March
2006) Huge
Vesuvius Eruption Buried Town 2,000 Years Before Pompeii
National Geographic: Volcanoes,
Forces of Nature
Antiques Digest: The
great disaster on August 24, A.D. 79
BBC News: Rare
Pompeii dinner set unveiled
Pompeii's
Cool Spots Offer Volcano Tips
(Discovery Channel)
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