This book is the middle of three the author wrote as part of "The Story of Nations" series, the other two being "Chaldea" and "Media". In an engaging, informal style she outlines what was known or surmised about Assyria--an offshoot of the Babylonian people, who colonized the higher, harder country above the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates valley. Along the way she makes some long but very interesting digressions to explore the peoples and cultures of Canaan and Phoenicia.

The book is quite richly illustrated, mainly with engravings reproducing Assyrian friezes, but also with a few landscapes, maps, and statues. It contains many references to the Bible, and identifies many peoples named in it with those discovered through other historical sources and archaeology.