Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia [Paperback]

Stephen Bertman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195183649 | ISBN-13: 978-0195183641 | Publication Date: July 7, 2005

Modern-day archaeological discoveries in the Near East continue to illuminate our understanding of the ancient world, including the many contributions made by the people of Mesopotamia to literature, art, government, and urban life The Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia describes the culture, history, and people of this land, as well as their struggle for survival and happiness, from about 3500 to 500 BCE. Mesopotamia was the home of a succession of glorious civilizations--Sumeria, Babylonia, and Assyria--which flourished together for more than three millennia. Sumerian mathematicians devised the sixty-minute hour that still rules our lives; Babylonian architects designed the famed Tower of Babel and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; Assyrian kings and generals, in the name of imperialism, conducted some of the shrewdest military campaigns in recorded history. Readers will identify with the literary works of these civilizations, such as the Code of Hammurabi and the Epic of Gilgamesh, as they are carried across centuries to a period in time intimately entwined with the story of the Bible. Maps and line drawings provide examples of Mesopotamian geography, while other chapters present the Mesopotamian struggle to create civilized life in a fertile land racked by brutal conquest.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Bertman, professor emeritus of classics at the University of Windsor, has made a useful contribution to Facts On File's Handbook to Life series. Covering the lives of Assyrians, Babylonians, and Sumerians from around 3500 to 500 B.C.E., the book is arranged topically, with chapters on geography, archaeology, government, religion, language and literature, arts, and daily life, among other subjects. Each chapter has citations to the extensive bibliography. Most of the works in the larger bibliography are technical and specialized, but a "Note to the Reader" lists several popular works that could be found in a larger public library. Bertman's writing is formal but accessible, with touches of dry humor.

Subsections within the chapters deal with more specific topics. In the chapter on government, there are capsule biographies of political leaders, mostly kings. The chapter on archaeology provides a list of archaeologists who have made major discoveries in the region. Gods and goddesses are described in the chapter on religion. There is an interesting concluding chapter about the legacy of Mesopotamia and how it endures. A brief section on Aramaic-speaking Chaldeans who migrated from an ancient village in Iraq to Detroit in the twentieth century suggests that the legacy is more alive than we realize. Bertman notes, too, how many archaeological sites have been put at risk by recent political and military actions in the region.

The book is illustrated with black-and-white photographs and line drawings, which should copy well. Appendixes include a chronological table and a list of museums with major Mesopotamian collections. A useful purchase for medium-sized to large public libraries and academic libraries with undergraduate Middle Eastern ancient history classes.

RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Bertman, professor emeritus of classics at the University of Windsor, has made a useful contribution to the Handbook to Life series. Covering the lives of Assyrians, Babylonians, and Sumerians from around 3500 to 500 B.C.E., the book is arranged topically, with chapters on geography, archaeology, government, religion, language and literature, arts, and daily life, among other subjects. Bertman's writing is formal but accessible, with touches of dry humor. The book is illustrated with black-and-white photographs and line drawings, which should copy well. Appendixes include a chronological table and a list of museums with major Mesopotamian collections. --Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195183649
• ISBN-13: 978-0195183641
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #523,970 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Bertman, PhD (Windsor, Ontario), professor emeritus of classics at the University of Windsor, is the author of seven books, including Doorways through Time (featured by the Natural Science Book Club), Eight Pillars of Greek Wisdom, Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, and Erotic Love Poems of Greece and Rome.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars by its cover, August 17, 2007

By 

Jia Gu Wen "Jia Gu Wen" (Florida, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (Paperback)

I just spent about 10 minutes with this book in a store. I know the genre of "Travel Books to Ancient Lands", however, and I'd say that this book is worth its weight in gold! It's chock full of interesting tidbits on how the Sumerians lived in a very readable format. Academics should take notes -books like this will fly off the shelves!

It's very anthropological: It covers a very broad range of topics in Sumerian life. There was food, worship, travel, language, and other things.

Aside from their language and its writing system, this is the kind of information that I WANT in a book about a culture, a civilization. King Lists and Mythologies are fine (excellent in the original language) but give me the culmination of 150 years of digging and writing -I want to know what the run-of-the-mill man's work-a-day life was like, too.

This book is jam-packed with facts. If you can spare the money and you want to know how Sumerians lived their life, this is it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent !, December 31, 2010

By 

John B. Lankford - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (Facts on File Library of World History) (Hardcover)

This is THE book for those who want to know more about this topic. You can turn to it with much appreciation. It is well-written, presented in a easy way , gives a time-line of history in the back, divides sections into logical areas ( like history, archetecture etc). Just a complete book. Goes well with Roux's book "Ancient Iraq".5 stars.