Ancient History from Primary Sources:
A Literary Timeline--Data DVD Set
by Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn
Reviewed by Martha Robinson
Purchase details: Ancient History from Primary Sources: A Literary Timeline by Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn. Paperback book with data DVD. Minimum System Requirements for the DVD: Pentium 200Mhz with 32 Meg System Memory, DVD-ROM Drive, Internet Browser, Acrobat Reader 5.0 (Acrobat Reader 6.0 is included on the DVD), Windows 95, Linux, or MacOS. Recommended for ages 12 and up, $59. Published by Trivium Pursuit. Please support HomeschoolChristian.com by buying this program from our Christian Book Distributors link or Amazon affiliate link.
Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn, veterans in the world of Christian Trivium homeschooling, wrote Ancient History from Primary Sources: A Literary Timeline as a history supplement to help "anyone to study history from the real sources of history -- the ancient writings themselves." As in all of their materials, the Bluedorns emphasize the Christian perspective of how to read ancient literature and caution parents to determine the appropriateness of specific writing based upon family beliefs.
After an introduction citing how to use the book/DVD, using primary and principal sources for history study is discussed. In order to get the most accurate view of events of the past, one must get as close as possible to an eyewitness account, or primary source. Frequently, primary sources are not available, so secondary sources, documents written by people who spoke to others who witnessed the events, may be used. If the secondary source is the only record of the event that has survived, it is called the principal source. The Bluedorns offer logical questions for the student to ask about the accuracy and biases of sources.
The next section of the book has a timeline from creation (c. 3958 B.C.) to the fall of Rome (476 A.D.) Broken into columns for Hebrew and Christian, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek, and Roman civilizations, the timeline includes major events and suggestions for ancient writings that apply to each time period.
The "Author and Primary Source Index" follows. Using the same civilization categories as the timeline, this section describes the primary literature for each civilization with the Holy Bible getting a section of its own. A brief biography of each author is given along with a list of works included on the data DVD.
The final section of the book consists of six appendices. Four of them have the Bluedorns' arguments on particular subjects: how to approach the study of ancient literature through secular, religious, or distinctly Christian methods; the inability to have "neutrality" in the world; Paul's background as a scholar; and chronology of events in the Bible. The other two appendices list a bibliography and a list of curricula with which this supplement might be used.
Primary Literary Sources for Ancient History DVD set
Included in the Ancient History from Primary Sources: A Literary Timeline package is a DVD. The over 1,200 works from eighty authors are viewed using either a web browser or Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Recommendation: Ancient History from Primary Sources: A Literary Timeline is a useful supplement for dialectic and rhetoric aged students and for the motivated parent. It offers the balance of Christian commentary with ancient Pagan writings that will make the most concerned Christian parent comfortable. The timeline section makes it particularly easy to select a work that is applicable to current studies.
The CD-ROM [older version reviewed] worked well on my computer, a pleasant surprise for a Macintosh and Safari browser user. The fonts are easy to read, and the menus are simple though switching between disks is necessary. Many, if not all of the works, are available on the Internet, but those without high speed access will find it very handy to have this many works at their fingertips.
All in all, Ancient History from Primary Sources: A Literary Timeline is a great addition to the classical homeschooling market where little time has been devoted to helping Christian parents use ancient literature.
HomeschoolChristian.com resources related to this review:
HomeschoolChristian.com's History Resource Section for ideas, links, living book lists, and more!
Interview with the Bluedorns
Question and Answer Session with the Bluedorns
Review of Teaching the Trivium by the Bluedorns
Review of Classical Studies Guided studies of Famous Men of Rome and D'Aulaires' Greek Myths
Review of Horatius at the Bridge
Review of Introduction to Classical Studies
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