The Ark Before Noah by Irving Finkel - ISBN: 9781444757088
Paperback
Ancient flood story decoded, revealing Noah’s Ark secrets.

The Ark Before Noah

A radical new interpretation of the Noah's Ark story from leading expert and curator at the British Museum

$26.38

  • Paperback

    464 pages

  • Release Date

    14 October 2014

Check Delivery Options

Summary

In THE ARK BEFORE NOAH, British Museum expert Dr Irving Finkel reveals how decoding the symbols on a 4,000 year old piece of clay enable a radical new interpretation of the Noah’s Ark myth. A world authority on the period, Dr Finkel’s enthralling real-life detective story began with a most remarkable event at the British Museum - the arrival one day in 2008 of a single, modest-sized Babylonian cuneiform tablet - the palm-sized clay rectangles on which our ancestors created the first documents…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781444757088
ISBN-10:1444757083
Author:Irving Finkel
Publisher:Hodder & Stoughton
Imprint:Hodder Paperback
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:464
Release Date:14 October 2014
Weight:332g
Dimensions:197mm x 137mm x 31mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

A serious book, but rarely a heavy one: in a sprightly, good-humoured way, Finkel communicates the thrill of true scholarship…it feels fresh and exciting here. - The Sunday Times

The charged thrill of Finkel’s chase permeates the book - the pages don’t just join dots, they supply new pieces for a beautiful, Bronze-Age jigsaw-puzzle… Scholarly and droll, Finkel’s writing is also eccentrically vivid… it is a joy. - The Times

A painstaking and lively investigation … there are remarkable scholarly insights to admire … brilliant. - Literary Review

One of the most important human documents ever discovered… his conclusions will send ripples into the world of creationism and among ark hunters. - The Guardian

Finkel is a master at deciphering these ancient cuneiform clay tablets, but this book is far more than a fine piece of detective work: it is a humane work of scholarship that enlarges the soul. - The Observer

Delightful…a digressive, amusing personal book for the general reader, a book that is willing to ask big questions. - The Guardian

Finkel’s account is wryly and entertainingly told. - The Guardian

Exudes the enthusiasm of an expert deeply absorbed in his subject. - Times Literary Supplement

About The Author

Irving Finkel

Dr Irving Finkel is Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian (i.e. Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian) script, languages and cultures Department: Middle East at the British Museum, headquartered in London’s Bloomsbury. He is the curator in charge of cuneiform inscriptions on tablets of clay from ancient Mesopotamia, of which the Middle East Department has the largest collection - some 130,000 pieces - of any modern museum. This work involves reading and translating all sorts of inscriptions, sometimes working on ancient archives to identify manuscripts that belong together, or even join to one another.

Returns

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.