This account of Ancient Syria does an excellent job presenting the story of Ancient Assyria in a manner appealing to middle school students. Much of the history of Assyria is known by archeological excavations as well as Biblical era chronicles, and Baikie does an excellent job of presenting archeological evidence in the context of an "Indiana Jones" style account of the search for artifacts.He also presents stories and mythologies that are appealing to young students, and ties in Assyrian history with that of the Biblical chronicles.