{"title":"Irving Finkel","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the fascinating world of \u003cem\u003eIrving Finkel\u003c\/em\u003e, a distinguished curator and renowned author known for his captivating exploration of ancient history. With a keen focus on ancient Mesopotamian cultures, Finkel offers readers unique insights into early civilization through his remarkable works.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis book, \u003cem\u003eCuneiform\u003c\/em\u003e, introduces readers to the world's oldest writing system, illuminating how early societies communicated and recorded their legacy. In \u003cem\u003eThe Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood\u003c\/em\u003e, Finkel delves into ancient tablets, unveiling a version of the flood story predating the biblical account and offering a profound look at storytelling through the ages. Meanwhile, \u003cem\u003eThe First Ghosts\u003c\/em\u003e takes readers on a journey through the earliest human encounters with the supernatural, showcasing ancient beliefs and practices surrounding spirits.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf you're drawn to the mysteries of ancient history or enthralled by tales from the past, Irving Finkel's collection presents an enthralling blend of scholarly research and engaging narrative. Discover the roots of our history and uncover new perspectives with his meticulously crafted books.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"cuneiform-by-irving-finkel-9780714111889","title":"Cuneiform","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCuneiform\u003c\/em\u003e script on tablets of clay is, as far as we know, the oldest form of writing in the world. The choice of clay as a writing medium in ancient Mesopotamia meant that records of all kinds could survive down to modern times, preserving fascinating documents from ancient civilisation, written by a variety of people and societies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom reading these tablets, we can understand not only the history and economics of the time but also the beliefs, ideas, and superstitions. This fascinating book will bring the world in which the cuneiform was written to life for the non-expert reader, revealing how ancient inscriptions can lead to a new way of thinking about the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt will explain how this pre-alphabetic writing really worked and how it was possible to use cuneiform signs to record so many different languages so long ago. Richly illustrated with a wealth of fresh examples ranging from elementary school exercises to revealing private letters or beautifully calligraphic literature for the royal library, we will meet people that aren't so very different from ourselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe will read the work of many scribes—from mundane record keepers to state fortune tellers—using tricks from puns to cryptography. For the first time, cuneiform tablets and their messages are not remote and inaccessible, but wonderfully human documents that resonate today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Gardners Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46848887423212,"sku":"9780714111889","price":25.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/35920216f52dd8f8f7b0f6641de7d0ae.jpg?v=1759187748"},{"product_id":"the-ark-before-noah-decoding-the-story-of-the-flood-by-irving-finkel-9781444757088","title":"The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Ark Before Noah\u003c\/em\u003e, British Museum expert Dr Irving Finkel reveals how decoding the symbols on a 4,000-year-old piece of clay enables 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt had been brought in by a member of the public, and this particular tablet proved to be of quite extraordinary importance. Not only does it date from about 1850 BC, but it is a copy of the Babylonian Story of the Flood, a myth from ancient Mesopotamia revealing, among other things, instructions for building a large boat to survive a flood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut Dr Finkel's pioneering work didn't stop there. Through another series of enthralling discoveries, he has been able to decode the story of the Flood in ways which offer unanticipated revelations to readers of \u003cem\u003eThe Ark Before Noah\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46849989279980,"sku":"9781444757088","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10566303482702.jpg?v=1759072592"},{"product_id":"the-first-ghosts-by-irving-finkel-9781529303292","title":"The First Ghosts","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘It's enthralling stuff, mixing the scholarly with the accessible and placing storytelling right at the heart of the human experience.’ - \u003ci\u003eHistory Revealed\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘A fascinating journey’ - \u003ci\u003eYorkshire Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Marvellous... Finkel is an expert in Mesopotamian cultures at the British Museum, and is one of the most clever, and nicest, of people it has ever been my pleasure to encounter... A fascinating journey’ - \u003ci\u003eThe Scotsman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere are few things more in common across cultures than the belief in ghosts. Ghosts inhabit something of the very essence of what it is to be human. Whether we personally ‘believe’ or not, we are all aware of ghosts and the rich mythologies and rituals surrounding them. They have inspired, fascinated, and frightened us for centuries - yet most of us are only familiar with the vengeful apparitions of Shakespeare, or the ghastly spectres haunting the pages of 19th-century gothic literature. But their origins are much, much older...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe First Ghosts: Most Ancient of Legacies\u003c\/i\u003e takes us back to the very beginning. A world-renowned authority on cuneiform, the form of writing on clay tablets which dates back to 3400BC, Irving Finkel has embarked upon an ancient ghost hunt, scouring these tablets to unlock the secrets of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians to breathe new life into the first ghost stories ever written.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe First Ghosts\u003c\/i\u003e, he uncovers an extraordinarily rich seam of ancient spirit wisdom which has remained hidden for nearly 4000 years, covering practical details of how to live with ghosts, how to get rid of them and bring them back, and how to avoid becoming one, as well as exploring more philosophical questions: what are ghosts, why does the idea of them remain so powerful despite the lack of concrete evidence, and what do they tell us about being human?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46850043904236,"sku":"9781529303292","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/13454643482732.jpg?v=1759077564"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/irving-finkel.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}