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Babylon

Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization

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Babylon

By: Paul Kriwaczek
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
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Civilization was born 8,000 years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place.

In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period and explores the political and social systems, as well as the technical and cultural innovations, which made this land extraordinary. At the heart of this book is the story of Babylon, which rose to prominence under the Amorite king Hammurabi from about 1800 BCE. Even as Babylon's fortunes waxed and waned, it never lost its allure as the ancient world's greatest city.

Engaging and compelling, Babylon reveals the splendor of the ancient world that laid the foundation for civilization itself.

©2010 Paul Kriwaczek (P)2019 Tantor Ancient Civilization Middle East World Mesopotamia Ancient History Africa Royalty Middle Ages Ancient Greece
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Comprehensive Historical Overview • Engaging Narrative Style • Insightful Cultural Connections • Illuminating Ancient Context

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I have studied ancient Near East culture and literature as part of my doctoral and professorial work for forty-five years. This book connected the many dkts I have acquired into a sensible picture of the whole. I enjoyed Kriwaczek's insightful connections with other periods of history. This illumined Mesopotamia with more accessible analogies from history, and offered thought provoking insigbts into modern history.

Wonderful and relevant history of Mesopotamia

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Very well written and researched. There was perhaps a little bit of jumping around geographically and chronologically that required concentration to follow, but otherwise it was very clear. I liked how he interwove the effects and patterns of history with both modern history and judeo-christian events. I don't think we can understand judeo-christianity without understanding its roots, and those roots for the most part are Mesopotamian.

A nit-pick with the title, this book wasn't really about Babylon per se, but about ancient Mesopotamia, its geology, history, cities and societies.

The narration was quite good, although there were a few mispronunciations that stood out, the most obvious being 'KYU-ni-form' for 'kyu-NAY-i-form'.

Babylon

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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.

The Cradle of Civilization

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I loved the chronological organization and the inclusion of so many cities in the distant past

Great overview of Mesopotamia

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This book was a delight! We know so much more about Mesopotamians now than when I was a kid. The author does a beautiful job of painting a lively picture of the development of pottery and metallurgy, or the life of a scribe-in-training. I can’t help imagining the cross-dressing priests of Inanna as fabulous drag queens organizing neolithic farmers into the first urban civilization! Behind every bronze age king is a bureaucracy of drag queens dedicated to the goddess (LOL)! In many ways the Mesopotamians were far more cosmopolitan than we are.

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