Moab in the Iron Age: Hegemony, Polity, Archaeology (Archaeology, Culture, and Society)

Rating:
Summary: Difficult but its about more than Moab
Review: This is a very well-written book by an author who thinks deeply about the essence of society. His vocabulary is formidable, but his conclusions are remarkably well thought out. He uses Moab in the Bronze and Iron Ages, a rather small set of societies in a limited area with relatively few artifacts, to show how states were not what we imagine them to be. Extrapolation of his thoughts to the rest of the Middle East at the time certainly changes ones view of biblical history. The author is a precise archeologist and the reader wishes there was more material left from Moab in the Iron Age for him to analyze and discuss. This is not a page-turner, but there is a great satisfaction in understanding his arguments and feeling you know what is known about the Age and location.