THE LAND OF CANNAN

Intermittently interesting, chiefly in its accounts of familiar heroes (Saul against the Philistines, King David, Alexander the Great and that very late Canaanite, Hannibal) and its refreshingly provocative treatment of the Bible as legend and history and of the early influences on Christianity, The Land Of Canaan is burdened (like the author's Constantinople, 1970) with a time span of almost twenty centuries, a plethora of military details surrounding government overthrows (with only infrequent hints of socioeconomic and cultural conditions), and a distressing lack of topical development. As a reference source, however, the book is of value; its singular concentration on the Mediterranean's "fertile crescent" — now Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel — is unique at this level. But for exciting readable history Asimov must limit his scope and adjust his focus.