| 010 ## - LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER |
|---|
| LC control number |
2024013656 |
| 020 ## - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER |
|---|
| International Standard Book Number |
9781668015445 |
| Qualifying information |
(hardcover) |
| 020 ## - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER |
|---|
| International Standard Book Number |
1668015447 |
| Qualifying information |
(hardcover) |
| 035 ## - SYSTEM CONTROL NUMBER |
|---|
| System control number |
(OCoLC)1505018397 |
| 049 ## - LOCAL HOLDINGS (OCLC) |
|---|
| Holding library |
AJMA |
| 050 00 - LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CALL NUMBER |
|---|
| Classification number |
PJ3197 |
| Item number |
.H36 2025 |
| 082 ## - DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION NUMBER |
|---|
| Classification number |
492.1802 Ham |
| Item number |
10 |
| 092 ## - LOCALLY ASSIGNED DEWEY CALL NUMBER (OCLC) |
|---|
| Classification number |
492.1802 Ham |
| 100 1# - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME |
|---|
| Personal name |
Hammer, Joshua |
| 245 14 - TITLE STATEMENT |
|---|
| Title |
Mesopotamian riddle |
| Remainder of title |
an archaeologist, a soldier, a clergyman, and the race to decipher the world's oldest writing |
| Statement of responsibility, etc |
Joshua Hammer. |
| 246 ## - VARYING FORM OF TITLE |
|---|
| Title proper/short title |
The Mesopotamian riddle |
| 250 ## - EDITION STATEMENT |
|---|
| Edition statement |
First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition. |
| 260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC. (IMPRINT) |
|---|
| Place of publication, distribution, etc |
New York |
| Name of publisher, distributor, etc |
Simon & Schuster |
| Date of publication, distribution, etc |
2025 |
| 300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION |
|---|
| Extent |
xiv, 380 pages |
| Other physical details |
illustrations, map ; |
| Dimensions |
22 cm. |
| 504 ## - BIBLIOGRAPHY, ETC. NOTE |
|---|
| Bibliography, etc |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 321-358) and index. |
| 520 ## - SUMMARY, ETC. |
|---|
| Summary, etc |
"It was one of history's great vanishing acts. As early as 3500 BCE, scribes in the mud-walled city-state of Sumer used a reed stylus to press tiny wedge-shaped symbols into clay. For three thousand years, the script chronicled the military conquests, scientific discoveries, and epic literature of the grand kingdoms of Mesopotamia - Assyria, Babylon, the mighty Achaemenid Empire - along with precious minutia about everyday life so long ago. But as the palaces of these once great kingdoms sank beneath the desert sands, the meaning of these characters was lost. London, 1857. Colossal sculptures of winged bulls and alabaster bas-reliefs depicting cities under siege and vassals bearing tributes to Biblical kings lined the halls of the British Museum. In the Victorian era's obsession with the triumph of human progress, the mysterious kingdoms of ancient Mesopotamia - the very cradle of civilization - had captured the public imagination. Yet Europe's best philologists struggled to decipher the strange characters. Cuneiform seemed to have thousands of symbols - with some scholars claiming each could be pronounced in up to eight, nine, even ten different ways. Others insisted they'd cracked the code and deciphered inscriptions that corresponded precisely to the Old Testament - proving the veracity of the Word of God. Was it all a hoax? A delusion? A rollicking adventure through the golden age of archaeology, The Writing on the Wall tracks the decades-long race to decipher the oldest script in the world. It's the story of a swashbuckling young archeologist, a suave British military officer, and a curmudgeonly Irish rector, all vying for glory - from the ruins of Persepolis to the opulence of Ottoman-era Baghdad - in a quest to unearth the relics of lost civilizations and unlock the secrets of humanity's past"-- |
| 590 ## - LOCAL NOTE (RLIN) |
|---|
| Local note |
115869 |
| 650 #0 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM |
|---|
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element |
Cuneiform writing. |
| 650 #0 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM |
|---|
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element |
Cuneiform inscriptions. |
| 650 #0 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM |
|---|
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element |
Assyriology |
| General subdivision |
History. |
| 942 ## - ADDED ENTRY ELEMENTS (KOHA) |
|---|
| Source of classification or shelving scheme |
|
| Koha item type |
400 - 499 |