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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Overall really enjoyed this. Very informative, not too difficult, good for someone who knows very little about the topic, and a nice jumoing off point into sonething more specific. Some thoughts:
-Sometimes the book seems to accept an unquestioned distinction between civilised and barbarian. Maybe the author didn't want to get into it but it was annoying.
-Overall the book presents a nice narrative history of ancient Mesopotamia, and explains well how various cultures morphed into one another or adapted eachothers customs etc, but at the end of the book we are meant to accept that Mesopotamian civilisation simply ended when the Greeks took over, and a new "alphabetic" rather than cuneiform civilisation began, which sounded extremely arbitrary and could have used a lot more nuance.
-There were more comparisons to communism and Soviet times than one might expect, but I liked the idea of seeing urban living as a kind of ideology.
-Throughout, the author chose some very interesting technological and cultural innovations to deep dive into, such as artificial lapis lazuli and mass-produced throw-away clay bowls.
-As many people note, the book mostly not about Babylon, it is about ancient Mesopotamia. Babylon does not exist during most of the books time frame, and first appears about 75% percent into the book. This is honestly misleading and perhaps plays into a misconception that the two are interchangeable. After reading the book you know that's not true, but its sad the title plays into it.
-Sometimes the book seems to accept an unquestioned distinction between civilised and barbarian. Maybe the author didn't want to get into it but it was annoying.
-Overall the book presents a nice narrative history of ancient Mesopotamia, and explains well how various cultures morphed into one another or adapted eachothers customs etc, but at the end of the book we are meant to accept that Mesopotamian civilisation simply ended when the Greeks took over, and a new "alphabetic" rather than cuneiform civilisation began, which sounded extremely arbitrary and could have used a lot more nuance.
-There were more comparisons to communism and Soviet times than one might expect, but I liked the idea of seeing urban living as a kind of ideology.
-Throughout, the author chose some very interesting technological and cultural innovations to deep dive into, such as artificial lapis lazuli and mass-produced throw-away clay bowls.
-As many people note, the book mostly not about Babylon, it is about ancient Mesopotamia. Babylon does not exist during most of the books time frame, and first appears about 75% percent into the book. This is honestly misleading and perhaps plays into a misconception that the two are interchangeable. After reading the book you know that's not true, but its sad the title plays into it.
I really enjoyed this read! The author does a great job in pulling all the information together, without feeling overwhelming. I took my time reading through this one, so that I could digest the information.
Absolutely would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys this period in history.
Absolutely would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys this period in history.
While I thought that this was an excellent introduction to Mesopotamian history, it was also incredibly tangential, which made it difficult to follow. I learned way more about the soviet occupation of Russia and the world wars than one would ever expect from a book that was advertised to be a history about the fertile crescent.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Is This An Overview?
The inhabitants of Mesopotamia were ethnically diverse. Various peoples wanted control of Mesopotamia which generated conflict. Ancient conflict reflected in contemporary events. Conflicts that devastated cities. After various disasters, military power was changed. Concentrated to protect, but also for conquest. To prevent being conquered, they had become conquerors. The political system contained citizen assemblies that were needed to approve decisions, no matter who the leader was. The political system changed from city-states to centralized power, with formalized laws.
The culture was based on continuous change, to continuously improve on what was. Change everything from physical structures to belief systems. There were even references to the flood that were used to explain the changing times. When various aspects of society had been disintegrating, many had given up on the social system. The flood symbolized rejection of what was before. That power, culture, and ideology have changed.
Caveats?
Understanding Mesopotamian history is made difficult by a lack of sources, and challenges in translating the language.
History is useful when applied to contemporary events. Showcased in this book by the connection of the various related historic and contemporary events. The connections have mixed qualities, as the references can be interesting, but also distracting.
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
slow-paced
Wish there were more new ideas. Just giving me things I know and adding a modern twist. If you don't know anything about masadonia, I'm sure it's good.
informative
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
Very interesting and informative. I recommend this book to anyone interested in early civilization, but who doesn't want to read a textbook.
An audiobook I could have skipped, that didn't keep dragging me back to it.
There's a lot of anecdotal evidence spanning several millennium worth of Mesopotamian history. At times you're sprinting through centuries in sentences. There's a lot of whiplash to be had, and I'm not sure what impressions I'm exiting this work with, beyond anecdotes. While it's interesting to note that a slung stone flies at nearly 2/3rds the speed of larger rounds of handgun munition, and that professional slingers were capable of hitting incredibly small moving objects at a distance, I don't know the implications this knowledge has on my life. Except that David brought a gun to a knife fight with Goliath.
It seems like people have been people for a long time. I think that's good.
There's a lot of anecdotal evidence spanning several millennium worth of Mesopotamian history. At times you're sprinting through centuries in sentences. There's a lot of whiplash to be had, and I'm not sure what impressions I'm exiting this work with, beyond anecdotes. While it's interesting to note that a slung stone flies at nearly 2/3rds the speed of larger rounds of handgun munition, and that professional slingers were capable of hitting incredibly small moving objects at a distance, I don't know the implications this knowledge has on my life. Except that David brought a gun to a knife fight with Goliath.
It seems like people have been people for a long time. I think that's good.