Mesopotamia [Mass Market Paperback]

Gwendolyn Leick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0140265740 | ISBN-13: 978-0140265743 | Publication Date: June 24, 2003

More than seven thousand years ago, the first urban civilization began in Mesopotamia, in an area corresponding to present-day Iraq. This remarkable book is the first to reveal everyday life as it was in ten long-lost Mesopotamian cities. Using archaeological fragments of jewelry, textiles, and writings, anthropologist Gwendolyn Leick paints a colorful picture of the lives of Mesopotamians-from poets and priests to businesswomen and divorcées-and the incredible achievements of their advanced and imaginative society.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As Leick convincingly shows, Mesopotamian antiquity has as much interest as, and even greater importance than, Egypt; and her welcome book helps redress the balance of knowledge in its direction."

About the Author

Gwendolyn Leick is the author of various publications on the ancient Near East.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (June 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140265740
• ISBN-13: 978-0140265743
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > History > Ancient > Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting survey, July 9, 2003

By 

"old_guy" (Ridgeland, MS United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mesopotamia (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm reading Leick's book right now, and enjoying it. She surveys ancient Mesopotamia through the examination of 10 ancient city sites, from Eridu to Babylon. Naturally this narrative device is a springboard for digressions into the culture as best we can know (or guess) at it. Leick does stints as a tour guide, if I recall the author bio correctly, & it shows in her writing, which is accessible if a bit repetitive when she wants to make a point. She also attends to the different archaelogists who've dug up Mesopotamia and their biases, hypotheses, etc.; she takes a similar approach with contemporary scholarly debates, "teaching the conflicts" as it were. This & Roux's "Ancient Iraq" seem to be the two best books for us lay readers in the past 40 years or so.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Tale of Ten Cities, September 26, 2006

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Mesopotamia (Mass Market Paperback)

Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City by Gwendolyn Leick is a book only a history major could fall in love with. But even non-history majors can enjoy it. The book is ten chapters, each chapter a detailed history of one city, using archaeological information in the form of textiles, writings and ruins. From the first city of Eridu, to the last city of Babylon, we follow the lives of the people, as they go from city-state, to Kingdoms to large Empires, from waiting for the rain to come feed their gardens to redirecting rivers to feed their fields. Artists, soldiers, priests and Kings, we learn how the region developed and follow the history of one of the first civilizations by how the cities developed.
Because the history of each city overlaps, weaving a complex history of warfare, trade, worship and power. The only problem some readers might have it how detailed it truly becomes in the last few chapters. Also some of the text accompanying the photos were placed on the wrong part of the page. Or the photos were placed on the wrong part of the page. Either way some photos don't match the text that go with them.
The chapters come with a simple timeline, a useful map, a helpful index and a not so helpful glossary (as some words I wanted to look up were not in it).
Overall it is still a great find and worth getting for any library on history, urban development or the Middle East.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction, January 26, 2004

By 

kallan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mesopotamia (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book a lot. It's a book that manages to be both scholarly and readable as it introduces the archaeology and history of various cities around Mesopotamia. Archaeology is the main focus, but Leick draws on written texts, notably literary texts, to illuminate the physical evidence. This book also shows how much more investigative work there is to be done in that region of the world.
A good read.