Scan barcode
sriq's review against another edition
"We don't know much about polite conversation in Sumerian (how did you say 'please' or 'thank you'?), but we can swear and insult each other with great vigor."
"[Regarding the library of Sippar's temple of the sungod]. On discover, tablets were still neatly arranged on their shelves, as they had been left when the last librarian finished work 2,500 years ago."
"When Nineveh fell to the Medes in 612 BC, Ashubanipal's tablets were broken and burnt. Ironically, this onlsaught ensured their survival; for a library of clay is the only type where a fire is beneficial, baking the tablets hard rather than destroying them."
"Occassionally, the clay displaced in making one wedge distorts the depression already made by another. . . scribes were trained to write the wedges in each sign in a particular order, as is the case with pen strokes in Chinese writing."
"[Regarding the library of Sippar's temple of the sungod]. On discover, tablets were still neatly arranged on their shelves, as they had been left when the last librarian finished work 2,500 years ago."
"When Nineveh fell to the Medes in 612 BC, Ashubanipal's tablets were broken and burnt. Ironically, this onlsaught ensured their survival; for a library of clay is the only type where a fire is beneficial, baking the tablets hard rather than destroying them."
"Occassionally, the clay displaced in making one wedge distorts the depression already made by another. . . scribes were trained to write the wedges in each sign in a particular order, as is the case with pen strokes in Chinese writing."
peachie_pie's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
“The very complication that so troubled the apprentice - that each sign had many possible uses - opened up exciting possibilités to the accomplished scholar”
I wish I could give this book 10 stars. Truly one of the best books I have ever read. It is a phenomenal introduction into the earliest known writing system of human kind. Structured in a highly logical and accessible way, Finkel and Taylor guide you through the history and culture of ancient Mesopotamia as well as the scribes behind the tablets, how it all came to an end and the cultural significance of cuneiform to our modern day society.
Accompanied with over 50 illustrations and photographs it is incredibly insightful and easy to read. I cannot wait to read more about Cuneiform and ancient Mesopotamia! I feel so incredibly inspired and like a whole new world has been opened up for me.
I wish I could give this book 10 stars. Truly one of the best books I have ever read. It is a phenomenal introduction into the earliest known writing system of human kind. Structured in a highly logical and accessible way, Finkel and Taylor guide you through the history and culture of ancient Mesopotamia as well as the scribes behind the tablets, how it all came to an end and the cultural significance of cuneiform to our modern day society.
Accompanied with over 50 illustrations and photographs it is incredibly insightful and easy to read. I cannot wait to read more about Cuneiform and ancient Mesopotamia! I feel so incredibly inspired and like a whole new world has been opened up for me.
mayphoenix7992's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
3.5
3,5⭐️
This is a very good introduction and overview on cuneiform, I just wish it had been a little bit *more* in depth.
This is a very good introduction and overview on cuneiform, I just wish it had been a little bit *more* in depth.
checkers09's review against another edition
4.0
Cuniform gives a beginner's guide to the ancient system of writing developed in mesopotamia that we have come to call cuniform writing.
the style of the book seems more like a textbook it's quite short at just a hundred and three pages long with most pages also having pictures however it coverers most of the basics of cuniform such as its development, how it was used, who wrote them, and how it disappeared. the pictures were well chosen and helped visualised how the tablets would have looked like and what they would have contained.
overall the book is a good short introduction to Cuniform writing which sheds light on not just the process of how they were developed and used but the lives of the people who wrote them.
the style of the book seems more like a textbook it's quite short at just a hundred and three pages long with most pages also having pictures however it coverers most of the basics of cuniform such as its development, how it was used, who wrote them, and how it disappeared. the pictures were well chosen and helped visualised how the tablets would have looked like and what they would have contained.
overall the book is a good short introduction to Cuniform writing which sheds light on not just the process of how they were developed and used but the lives of the people who wrote them.
carmen_fdez99's review
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
Muy instructivo, creo que me ayudará en mi afición con la escritura cuneiforme, y siempre es agradable leer éste tipo de libros de vez en cuando...
grubstlodger's review against another edition
4.0
A concise, crisp and very clear introduction to what cuneiform is, when it was used, who used it and how it worked.
I was slightly disappointed that the book didn’t teach me how to read cuneiform but it made it clear why a much bigger book would be required.
This whet my appetite rather then satiated it.
I was slightly disappointed that the book didn’t teach me how to read cuneiform but it made it clear why a much bigger book would be required.
This whet my appetite rather then satiated it.
readlovegrow's review against another edition
5.0
A slim book and very easy to read. I loved all the pictures and the variety of cuneiform tablets shown. There's even a phonetic guide at the end.
I think the most interesting thing I learned was that cuneiform was used for more than 3,000 years and that other cultures with different languages would come to study cuneiform to attempt to adapt it for their own languages, even though they already had a system of writing. Therefore, cuneiform was not just one language, but a system used by many different cultures. There is a section showing how some tablets had ink words written along the bottom in the "modern" language of the time, either as post-script (after the clay was dried) or as part of an indexing system. It reminded me of how some students still learn Latin today, so they can study and translate classical texts.
I think the most satisfying part I read was when it discussed the library of Nineveh, a huge collection of cuneiform tablets with many updated translations of earlier works and reference materials, like phonetic guides, that really helped open the world of cuneiform to modern researchers. But there was a part that said, at one point during an invasion, the library had been set on FIRE, but the great thing about clay is that the fire actually helped preserve the tablets by baking and hardening them, thereby saving them when everything else was lost.
I liked this novel and I hope to add it to my own collection some day. (This was a library book.)
I think the most interesting thing I learned was that cuneiform was used for more than 3,000 years and that other cultures with different languages would come to study cuneiform to attempt to adapt it for their own languages, even though they already had a system of writing. Therefore, cuneiform was not just one language, but a system used by many different cultures. There is a section showing how some tablets had ink words written along the bottom in the "modern" language of the time, either as post-script (after the clay was dried) or as part of an indexing system. It reminded me of how some students still learn Latin today, so they can study and translate classical texts.
I think the most satisfying part I read was when it discussed the library of Nineveh, a huge collection of cuneiform tablets with many updated translations of earlier works and reference materials, like phonetic guides, that really helped open the world of cuneiform to modern researchers. But there was a part that said, at one point during an invasion, the library had been set on FIRE, but the great thing about clay is that the fire actually helped preserve the tablets by baking and hardening them, thereby saving them when everything else was lost.
I liked this novel and I hope to add it to my own collection some day. (This was a library book.)