Reading and Writing in Babylon

Over5,000yearsago,thehistoryofhumanityradicallychangeddirectionwhenwritingwasinventedinSumer,thesouthernpartofpresent-dayIraq.Forthenextthreemillennia,kings,aristocrats,andslavesallmadeintensiveuseofcuneiformscripttodocumenteverythingfromroyalarchivestofamilyrecords.Inengagingstyle,DominiqueCharpinshowshowhundredsofthousandsofclaytabletstestifytothehistoryofanancientsocietythatcommunicatedbroadlythroughletterstogods,insightfulcommentary,andsalesreceipts.Heincludesanumberofpassages,offeredintranslation,thatallowreadersanilluminatingglimpseintothelivesofBabylonians.Charpin'sinsightfuloverviewdiscussesthemethodsandinstitutionsusedtoteachreadingandwriting,theprocessofapprenticeship,theroleofarchivesandlibraries,andvarioustypesofliterature,includingepistolaryexchangesandlegalandreligiouswriting.Theonlybookofitskind,"ReadingandWritinginBabylon"introducesMesopotamiaasthebirthplaceofcivilization,culture,andliteraturewhileaddressingthetechnicalsideofwritingandarguingforamuchwiderspreadofliteracythanisgenerallyassumed.Charpincombinesanintimateknowledgeofcuneiformwithacertainbreadthofvisionthatallowsthisbooktotranscendasmallcircleofscholars.Thoughitwillengageabroadgeneralaudience,thisbookalsofillsacriticalacademicgapandiscertaintobecomethestandardreferenceonthetopic.