THE MESOPOTAMIAN RIDDLE An Archaeologist, a Soldier, a Clergyman and the Race to Decipher the World's Oldest Writing

Listening to this history of the 1850s competition to decipher ancient Mesopotamian inscriptions is like listening to a Jules Verne or Conan Doyle adventure yarn. Narrator Matthew Lloyd Davies is a familiar voice in mystery and suspense fiction, and he clearly relishes what is not a musty story of scholarly reflection, but a cliff-hanger full of surprises and unexpected twists. Davies is a wonderful narrator for this kind of work, droll and cosmopolitan and silken to the ear. The process of decipherment will especially appeal to fans of espionage and decoding. But against the backdrop of Europe's historical relations with the Middle East, this is a story with many layers--and many buried treasures. D.A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2025]