Mesopotamia Book Reviews

Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and History of the Iraqi Cuisine, by Dr. Nawal Nasrallah — a former professor of English at the Universitiy of Baghdad and the University of Mosul — is a fine introduction to the history and diversity...

Herodotus: The Histories, translated by Robin Waterfield, is an excellent version of the famous work. As with all of Waterfield's translations, the prose is lively, easy to read, and instantly engaging. Some readers may be put off by a translation...

Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia by Professor Stephen Bertman is an indispensable treasure for anyone interested in the history of the Near East. The book is formatted for easy reference of topics ranging from the Geography of Mesopotamia...

The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction by Professor Amanda H. Podany is a concise, but very comprehensive, work on the history of Mesopotamia. Part of the Very Short Introduction series from Oxford University Press, the book is...

Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization, by Paul Kriwaczek, is a highly readable, engaging work which presents the history of Mesopotamia clearly and comprehensively. An essential addition to the library of anyone with a passion...

Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up In A War is a fine re-telling of the ancient tale by Kathy Henderson with beautiful illustrations by Jane Ray. The fly leaf of the book states, "Older than the Bible, the Torah, and the Koran, the tale...

The Technology of Mesopotamia by Graham Faiella is a children's/young adult work detailing the inventions and innovations of the people of Mesopotamia. It is one title in the series The Technology of the Ancient World brought out by Rosen...

In April of 2003, the Iraq Museum in Baghdad was looted of over fifteen thousand priceless artifacts. In only two days, from the 10th to the 12th of April, historical artifacts from ancient Sumerian cities like Uruk, Ur, and Eridu, as well...

Elizabeth Scholl's work Ancient Mesopotamia is an excellent introduction to Mesopotamian civilization for children. Part of the How'd They Do That In...? Series, Scholl's book begins with a story of a young girl named Kammani going to visit...

A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC by Marc Van De Mieroop is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the region of ancient Mesopotamia. His writing style is very accessible and the chapters are carefully constructed...