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Samuel N. Kramer

History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History Paperback – April 1, 1988

by Samuel Noah Kramer (Author)

4.6 139 ratings

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Which civilization had the first system of law? The first formal educational system? The first tax cut? The first love song? The answers were found in excavations of ancient Sumer, a society so developed, resourceful, and enterprising that it, in a sense, created history. The book presents a cross section of the Sumerian "firsts" in all the major fields of human endeavor, including government and politics, education and literature, philosophy and ethics, law and justice, agriculture and medicine, even love and family.

History Begins at Sumer is the classic account of the achievements of the Sumerians, who lived in what is now southern Iraq during the third millennium B.C. They were the developers of the cuneiform system of writing, perhaps their greatest contribution to civilization, which allowed laws and literature to be recorded for the first time.

Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

University of Pennsylvania Press
Publication date

April 1, 1988
Dimensions

6 x 0.93 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0812212762
ISBN-13

978-0812212761
Lexile measure

1370L
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kramer ranked among the world's foremost Sumerologists. . . . The book will interest both the scholar and the general educated reader." ― Religious Studies Bulletin

"[Kramer] possesses the enviable ability to speak authoritatively in a lively and captivating style." ― Choice

Book Description

"Kramer ranked among the world's foremost Sumerologists. . . . The book will interest both the scholar and the general educated reader."—Religious Studies Bulletin

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Pennsylvania Press; 3rd edition (April 1, 1988)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0812212762
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0812212761
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1370L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.93 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #430,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #104 in Ancient Mesopotamia History
- #146 in Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer History
- #580 in Archaeology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 139 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

139 global ratings

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James

5 star terrorism

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 1, 2023

Verified Purchase

Its really gross when you live in Colorado.

Helpful

Howard Schulman

What is was like to live in ancient Sumer

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 17, 2009

Verified Purchase

I had fun reading Samuel Noah Kramer's book "History Begins at Sumer". This isn't a typical history book. It doesn't go into any detail at all about the different city-states of Sumer, who ruled what lands, where Sumer was, or even mention any dates or events of any widespread significance, etc.

What this most unique book is is a collection of 39 essays on daily life taken almost exclusively from information recorded on 4,00 year old cuneiform tablets. There's an essay on a tablet, Kramer describes, where a father tries to convince his son to study hard and become a scribe, how a farmer should tend to his fields, Sumerian proverbs and wisdom, and Sumerian mythology stories. There's even an essay on sexuality. If you can imagine the Sumerians were a little less inhibited than we are about these matters! There are extensive quotations from these tablets, so you surely get the full flavor of the Sumerian experience right from the source.

What most people don't realize is that there are now perhaps tens of thousands of tablets with Sumerian language essays and documentations in existence that only in the mid 1800's became translatable. This opened up a vast world of insight into a civilization that was in many ways one of the first to use written language extensively yet had vanished beneath the sands of the Mesopotamian desert in 1500 BC. It also means that unlike civilizations and cultures that came before us, the Sumerian civilization in large part failed to gets its due credit.

Surprisingly, there aren't many scholars who can read these tablets and from what I understand thousands of them still sit undeciphered in the British Museum and many more lay buried and many more were recently illegally excavated, heading for antiquities auctions during the current turmoil in Iraq.

Kramer was probably one of the worlds foremost scholars on these tablets and he writes beautifully and effortlessly, like you're reading an article in the New Yorker literary magazine.

Lastly, although Kramer doesn't come right out and say it, I believe his passion to understand and write about the Sumerian culture is that he is probably Jewish and it appears that many of the Bible stories were taken from the Sumerians, including the flood, Eden, and a "rib" story, and Abraham was born in Ur. The Old Testament was complied somewhere between 1200 BC and 200 BC. The Sumerians wrote the same stories down perhaps over a millennium before that.

30 people found this helpful

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Stanley

Interesting Insights into Everyday Lives.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 28, 2017

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My knowledge of the Sumerians is about zero. I purchased the book out of curiosity and in particular any information it might provide regarding Old Testament accounts of early mankind.

Looking at other reviews I noted that several reviewers panned the book as being out of date and the new edition not adding any new insights or information. To me this made no difference. Others have noted that the author makes considerable reference to himself and his achievements. To me this bit of hubris actually makes the book a little more readable. What Kramer's book does provide great insight into everyday lives of people who lived four thousand years ago. For example there was a god for everything including the pickax. The Sumerians had no concept of cause and effect. Rulers always preached peace, social justice, and equality but that never really happened. Sound familiar?

With regard to the Old Testament there are several "myths" that were carried over and adopted by the Jews. Including the Garden of Eden, the conflict between Cain and Able in the form of bickering between shepherds and farmers, and Noah and the flood. I found this curious as Kramer is a Jew and we might think that these and other tales might put Old Testament orthodoxy into doubt. Kramer evidently does not see this as a problem.

Now a note about translation. It's incredibly hard. Words change meanings in short periods of time and looking back forty centuries meanings must be very, very difficult to determine.. By the way, Looking at photos and drawings of the clay tablets, I have no idea how anyone figured out what all this stuff meant. For example, as the scribes were all male there are several references to female genitalia. Kramer uses different words in different places. Did the Sumerians really have the words vulva and pudendum or is this Kramer sanitizing the writing? Also slightly irritating is the Sumerian tendency to repeat phrases, I skipped over some of that.

Still very interesting book, dated or not. One thing more. The cover is tightly bound light paper and the dear reader must be careful to not crack the spine.

30 people found this helpful

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Trevon Harris

Insightful

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 3, 2022

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Provided much insight through the first written records of what is now so deeply weaved into the fabric of our everyday lives that we don't give much thought to. Would definitely recommend to the curious readers wanting to peer into humanity's past.

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corner office

Easy entry into a fascinating culture

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 10, 2006

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Kramer was one of the foremost scholars of Sumerian history a generation ago, and in this work for a popular audience he lets his obvious love of his subject shine through.

The format - a brief self-contained chapter devoted to each of the 39 "firsts" he ascribes to Sumerian culture - lends itself to browsing through topics of interest without having to wade through areas of lesser appeal. It's a pleasant and easy way to learn some basic aspects of an ancient and highly influential culture.

The weaknesses of the work for the modern reader are those inherent in its format and decades-old publication date. The scholarship is a bit dated, so some of Kramer's claims of "firsts" are not as secure as in his day. (Kramer makes clear in the text that he is describing the first known or first recorded instance of a given cultural innovation, a status that obviously is affected by future finds.) Also, he strains to make certain interesting finds fit into the "first" category - such as the "first recorded instance of juvenile delinquency" to describe an interesting Sumerian text describing a father's disappointment with his son's lackadaisacal approach to school.

All said, this is an easily-digested introduction to Sumer, useful as a first book on the subject for the casual reader, or as an interesting sidelight for those with greater interest in this ancient kingdom.

13 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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M. g

La mise en place épisodiques des différents secteurs de la marche politique, socio-culturelle.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 22, 2020

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J’ai acheté ce livre pour parfaire ma connaissance concernant l’instauration des différents secteurs sociaux du monde, tels que nous les vivons aujourd’hui. J’ai aimé la disposition du sujet par l’auteur de ce livre. À ceux qui sont intéressés par les écrits/compte-rendu des sumériens, je recommande fortement ce livre.

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CesarVR

Muy interesante

Reviewed in Spain 🇪🇸 on October 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

No es un libro entretenido. Es un libro interesante, sobre todo si tienes curiosidad por lo que podría ser el "origen de la civilización", mostrando una gran cantidad de "primera vez que...". El conocimiento de Kramer sobre la cultura sumeria y la escritura cuneiforme en impresionante

One person found this helpful

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Cliente Amazon

Excelente livro!

Reviewed in Brazil 🇧🇷 on July 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

Excelente livro! Especial para quem quer conhecer mais sobre os sumérios, sua cultura, religião e sociedade. O autor traz uma série de "primeiros" envolvendo os sumérios, destacando o pioneirismo desse povo na história da humanidade.

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Amazon Customer

I will be benefitted reading the book

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on July 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

That was the book I wanted since long time.

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