Every creative endeavour I have ever embarked upon has drawn upon the talents of many people. In their own different ways both television documentaries and books are products of collaboration and discussion. On a project of such a scale and ambition of Civilisations that truism has been amplified and accentuated. I’d therefore like to thank my fellow presenters Simon Schama and Mary Beard. From the BBC I would like to give special thanks to Janice Hadlow and offer my sincere gratitude to Mark Bell and Jonty Claypole.
The remarkable team at Nutopia who realised this ambitious project was led by Denys Blakeway, Michael Jackson and Mel Fall. I would also like to thank Jane Root. The producer whose endless hard work and insight made my films possible was Ian Leese who worked with talented colleagues Ewan Roxburgh, Isabel Sutton, Joanna Marshall, Jenny Wolf and Laura Stevens. I am also grateful to Matt Hill. Thanks too to the brilliant series consultants Julian Bell and Jonathan Jones, from whom I have learned much. The visual impact of the television series was the work of camera operators Johann Perry, Duane McLunie, Dirk Nel, Rewa Harré and Richard Numeroff. The finished films also owe much to the composing talents of Tandis Jenhudson.
Further thanks go to everyone at Profile Books: Penny Daniel for her patience and belief, Andrew Franklin for making this project possible, and my publicist Valentina Zanca; and to designer James Alexander at Jade Design and Lesley Hodgson for great picture research.
I am grateful, as always, to my agent Charles Walker. Finally, I would like to thank my family for tolerating absences and giving support.