Amazon.com: The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh: 9780805087253: Damrosch, David: Books

The writing is good. He takes the reader from initial discovery to the Saddam era. The author breathes life into the dry subject of discovery and artifacts decoding. I took one star off for the excursion into Ethiopia. It added nothing to the story and wasted a chapter. The notes and bibliography are very good. For more on the subject are: Myths from MesopotamiaBy Stephannie Dalley 2008 reissued. She is a current day excavator in Mesopotamia. Robert Silveber's book - Gilgamesh the King, (is a tale that melds Gilgamesh into a Sci-fi tale).

of course, one must first read Gilgamesh, in all translations---i prefer the original cuniform tablets, but the stephen mitchell translation will do. it's the oldest book in the world--- records the Flood 2000 years before the Bible and was probably inspired by an alien race that interacted with the ancient mesopotamian peoples of that age. But it is also a very great story in it's own right and is well worth reading. the story of it's discovery and translation is a treat.

This book can easily be broken into three parts and a rather rambling epilogue. The first part details the lives and careers of two British Museum archaeologists—George Smith and Hormuzd Rassam. The second takes a look at the court life in ancient Babylon in roughly 2500 BCE. The third is a short summary of the Epic of Gilgamesh. And the fourth is a brief account of the epic’s influence in modern times. The result is not a book on the rediscovery of the first great epic poem, but a rather jumbled set of accounts on the above topics. To give Damrosch credit, he starts very well, but the whole account quickly loses steam as the book seems to veer off topic repeatedly. The little side routes are interesting, but they distract from the overall sense of unity that I expected the book to achieve. At many times I kept asking myself when the Epic of Gilgamesh was going to reappear in Damrosch’s account.

The book itself is a good read. It is readable, enjoyable, and I dare say many can learn from it. It includes facts and events that are presented without being boorish or dry. Despite this, the book should not be relied upon as a historic account because the author presents his own biases and opinions mixed in with the actual facts of the stories. Each chapter of the book presents a different type of story that the author relates to the Epic of Gilgamesh. At times most obviously near the end of the book he begins to be less effective at convincing the reader of his comparisons.It is important to note that the author of this book is a Professor of Literature and not of History. When reading the book, it is not difficult to see this because the author takes liberties that a historian usually would not. He does a great job of creating an environment where an appreciation of the Epic (and the work it took to make it available) can be developed. Where he shows his hand, is when he infuses thoughts and opinions into characters and historical figures that are just guesses on his part, and presents them as fact. Unless there are tablets that state these things specifically, we cannot "know" what the thoughts and motivations behind certain people and characters were. We can make educated guesses but many motives are lost to history.The next problem I saw with the book is that the passages he includes from supporting works aren't the best possible for each scenario. This is most obvious in the final chapters of the book when the author attempts to parallel former dictator Saddam's book with Gilgamesh. When he presents parts of Saddam's work it is not relevant to Gilgamesh at all. Rather, he highlights "the raciest scene in the book" followed by the story of the rape of Zabibah. This seems rather out of place when trying to draw parallels.In other parts of the book, when recounting parts of the Epic of Gilgamesh the author concentrates on Enkidu's lovemaking with Shamhat the harlot as well as Ishtar's attempt at seducing Gilgamesh. One wonders why the author concentrates on scenes of this particular type for analysis. In addition, other parts of the book seem out of place. For example, there is an anecdote about Rassam's daughter that appears to serve no purpose. Why would the author single out one of his many children to write about when Rassam had several children. Why only Rassam's daughter, and not George Smith's children also?Despite these few minor complaints, this is a good and well written book. The insight into the history of the Epic is welcome.

The story begins in 19th century Iraq with the accidental discovery of the until then unknown Epic of Gilgamesh, and unlike most history books, works backwards in time slowly revealing the mystery of its origins and meaning - this chronology works well, not unlike an archaeological dig. The first half of the book is devoted to two unlikely and largely unsung heroes of the Victorian era who first found and deciphered the tablets, George Smith and Horzmud Rassam. Rassam is probably the most important and unique revelation of the book, as Damrosch restores an unfairly maligned scholar to his rightful place in history and perhaps some immortality. The second half of the book jumps backwards from the 19th century to when the Epic was written, discussing the history of the Assyrian kingdom, and the library where the tablets were buried. The tablets were buried around 700 BC when the city was sacked, and thus the Epic lain forgotten from that time until the 19th century. Had the city not been sacked and the tablets not buried, it is likely the Epic would have been lost forever, as most tablets from that period did not survive otherwise.This is a fun tale, both Smith and Rassam encompass dramatic lives as underdogs who rose from obscurity, overcoming Victorian prejudices of class and race. If nothing else the first half of the book is worth the price of admission, in particular Rassam's side adventure to Ethiopia. Damrosch's literary interpretation of the Epic (Ch. 6) provides valuable insights, such as the importance of cedar trees, making it less "foreign" (both in time and culture) and more universally human. I certainly came away with a new appreciation of the tales message of the quest for immortality.The Sources and Notes section includes an up to date guide of recent translations of the Epic, recommended reading before deciding which translation(s) to pursue.