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dasbooch's review
3.0
Andrew Lawler strikes off on a fascinating quest to study how archeology has impacted parts of the old city of Jerusalem, however his book falls quite short. Many of his stories of archeological expeditions, while interesting, blend together and many become forgettable. It is neither comprehensive nor free of bias. Most disappointingly, the description of the book claim that Lawler describes how archeology can lead towards greater peace if done the right way, but he does not elaborate on that at all, even in the epilogue. He certainly doesn’t proposes any policy changes. Disappointing.
christophermoore's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
dalit's review
slow-paced
3.25
Talked more about the politics of archeological digs than the actual digs and discoveries. Was expecting the opposite based on the title and book description.
cinemasimulacra's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.0
the_bitextual's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
3.5
Very informative in both old and modern history, well written and unbiased.
jbmorgan86's review
2.0
I first heard about this book on the OnScript: Biblical World podcast. It sounded incredibly interesting. The journalist, while not an archaeologist, clearly knew his stuff. However, after spending the majority of my summer break slogging through this book, I quit just short of the finish line.
Andrew Lawler recounts the history of archaeology in Jerusalem. There are some interesting accounts of early European grave robbers . . . I mean, “archaeologists” and some unexpected cameos (Mart Twain, Herman Melville, Abraham Lincoln, Indiana Jones, Bill Clinton), and some wacky stories (I’m looking at you Ron Wyatt, the fundamentalist who claimed to find the exodus crossing, the Ark of the Covenant, Jesus’ blood, etc.). However, the majority of the book reads of “This archaeologist wanted to dig and pissed off these people,” “that archaeologist wanted to dig and pissed off these people.”
This book could have benefitted from more editing, more illustrations (sorry, descriptions of underground architecture is hard to grasp without visuals), and maybe a glossary, as there are literally dozens of archaeologists and figures who simply make brief appearances.
Andrew Lawler recounts the history of archaeology in Jerusalem. There are some interesting accounts of early European grave robbers . . . I mean, “archaeologists” and some unexpected cameos (Mart Twain, Herman Melville, Abraham Lincoln, Indiana Jones, Bill Clinton), and some wacky stories (I’m looking at you Ron Wyatt, the fundamentalist who claimed to find the exodus crossing, the Ark of the Covenant, Jesus’ blood, etc.). However, the majority of the book reads of “This archaeologist wanted to dig and pissed off these people,” “that archaeologist wanted to dig and pissed off these people.”
This book could have benefitted from more editing, more illustrations (sorry, descriptions of underground architecture is hard to grasp without visuals), and maybe a glossary, as there are literally dozens of archaeologists and figures who simply make brief appearances.