1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline (Goodreads Author), Andy Caploe (Narrator)

4 stars out of 5  ****

History is fascinating. The story of our ancestors in this world with all of its natural and man-made disasters teaches the present and future generations valuable lessons. Mankind still repeats history even with its best efforts not to. This may be because the truth, as a goal, is not always depicted in the writings and lore we humans pass down.

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed tries to narrow down the end of certain ages, like the Bornze Age, to the probable year that empires and major cities in eastern Europe, Mesopotamia, western Asia, and Egypt fell. Eric H. Cline's task is to draw conclusions from artifacts, correspondence, and geographical markers for drought and earthquakes that occur during Egyptian, Hittite, Mycenaean, Canaanite, Assyrian, and Babylonian empires. Cline utilizes research of the latest archaeological  discoveries by prominent experts in the field to derive the basis for his book's title.

The author refers to "Sea People", who come by sea and by land, as a marauding enemy that lays waste to vulnerable cities in the existing empires The cities are left weakened by appropriating most of their fighting forces to other regions in a time of war. This, coupled with natural disasters and desperation, drive these people to ransack and destroy when opportunity presents itself. 

The people, significant places, and regions have many names depending on who is describing the events that take place. Specifics of this era and in this region raise discussion of biblical accounts that may be attributable to the events Cline describes in his book. The author does not state as fact any biblical accounts but includes them as one of many possibilities. Also, the "Sea People" are not identified with any one culture or people but may comprise many different people from varied regions. 

It seems very difficult to say with certainty that the year 1177 B.C. is the year that civilization collapsed or that civilization collapsed at all but it is a compelling title. I enjoy reading about history, especially the history that surrounds what is presumably accepted as accurate. This book informs the reader how history is a book left open for future discovery.