From Publishers Weekly
The Phoenician merchants who built Carthage are still caricatured in texts as a band of money-grubbing, artless, parasitic aggressors. Refuting that stereotype with the aid of archeological evidence unearthed over the last 15 years, this lively, interesting history of ancient Tunisia portrays Carthage as a civilized, cosmopolitan, physically attractive city. Punic artists excelled in mosaics, stone sculpture, jewelry, sacred objects and architecture, and by synthesizing Libyan, Berber Greek and Roman influences, they created something uniquely Tunisian. The authors discuss the wretched plight of slaves, the practice of child sacrifice, the chaos of Vandal and Byzantine rule. They also explore elegant villas and temples, a popular culture of theater, literature and mime, and the early Tunisians' hybrid religion. Soren is a classics scholar at the Univeristy of Arizona, Ben Khader, curator of Tunisia's Bardo Museum, and Slim a Tunisian archeologist. Photos. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Written by three scholars, this engrossing history aims "to present a general, hopefully readable . . . introduction to and overview of some of the patterns and problems of ancient Tunisian history and culture." The authors succeed in deftly developing the story of Carthage, from the legend of its founding through its destruction during the Punic Wars; its return to prominence as part of the Roman Empire to its fall to Arab invaders in A.D. 705. Aspects of culture are described with insight and clarity. Based as it is both on literary sources and the latest archaeological discoveries (from the 15-year international effort, begun in the 1970s, known as "Save Carthage"), this book is popular history at its best. The authors manage to delineate both the complex influx and interface of ancient peoples in Tunisia and everyday life in the highly cosmopolitan city of Carthage. For history and archaeology collections. Macmillan Book Club alternate.- Joan W. Gartland, Detroit P.L.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.