Eight Thousand Years of Maltese Maritime History: Trade, Piracy, and Naval Warfare in the Central Mediterranean

摘要

As a rule, titles which suggest a serious treatment of any subject over an eight thousand year period (text books and course descriptions excluded) should be avoided. To be accurate, the principle chronological scope of this study is 6,998 years (5200 BC to 1798), and it is unclear whether the author intends a broad survey for"general readers,... specialists... and students" or a "comprehensive maritime history of the Maltese Archipelago." The work is somewhat uneven, lacks full cohesive-ness, and was inspired by a "systematic underwater archaeological survey," which revealed an "extreme paucity" of archaeological evidence. Nevertheless, Atauz's interdisciplinary approach raises interesting questions, and produces a viable introduction to the subject.