I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.
“Escapades in Bizarrchaeology: The Journal of Captain Max Virtus” is a history book with a twist. Narrated by the fictional Captain Max Virtus, the readre is taken on a tour of his Warehouse in Bizarrcheology. The book covers quite a few areas of geographical areas and themes in ancient history with a particular focus on Rome, Egypt, war and weapons.
This is a fun read that I think would be well suited to pre-teens and early teens. It has a good mix of silliness with historical facts, and covers a broad range of historical information. The book has a very diverse range of structures like recipes for making mummies, letters and quizzes that I think would be great for capturing the interest of young readers.
It does have a really strong focus on fighting and weaponry, and I think I would have liked to have read a bit more about bizarre examples of history in other topics. Most of the historical figures discussed in the book are men, and while I appreciate that women have been excluded from many history books (and while I did enjoy reading about the famous woman pirate Ching Shih), they are there and I would have liked to see more women in this book.
An enjoyable and educational read.
Tinted Edges 