HISTORY OF PALESTINE • AND SYRIA TO THE MACEDONIAN CONQUEST
By Professor Olmstead Professor Olmstead, who holds the chair of Oriental History- at Chicago, and is favourably known for his'history of Assyria, has written • a valuable History of Palestine and ,Syria to the Macedonian Conquest (Scribner, 30s.) in which the Egyptian, Assyrian and Hittite sources and the results of excavations in Palestine are fully utilized to introduce and supplement the Old Testament narratives. He covers a much longer period, but treats the archaeological material in less detail than Professor Garstang in his memorable new book. Pro- fessor Olmstead describes the country well; and his early chapters on the prehistoric era show a close study of the work done at Gezer and elsewhere. Possibly he is a little,too dog- matic about the alleged connexion of the Philistines with Crete ; the latest view is adverse to it. But his narrative is in the main clear and sound, and throws a flood of light.on the Biblical narrative. His commendation of Ahab as the last great King of Israel is a case in point. The volume is note- worthy for the excellence of its photographic illustrations, some two hundred in all, which gives vivid idea of the archaeo-
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