The Buried Book, David Damrosch
The Buried Book, David Damrosch
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The Buried Book
The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh

Author: David Damrosch

Narrator: William Hughes

Unabridged: 7 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/26/2007

Synopsis

Etched in the wedge-shaped letters known as cuneiform on clay tablets, the Epic of Gilgamesh stands as the earliest classic of world literature. Its earliest surviving fragments date back to the eighteenth century BC, more than 3,700 years ago. In The Buried Book, David Damrosch tells the story of George Smith, a self-taught linguist, who one momentous afternoon in 1872 was working at the British Museum, going through a pile of Layard’s clay tablets, when he suddenly realized that he was reading about “a flood, storm, a ship caught on a mountain, and a bird sent out in search of dry land.”Daring adventurers, fearless explorers, ancient kings, gods, and goddesses come to life in this riveting story of the first great epic and its rediscovery in the nineteenth century.

About David Damrosch

David Damrosch is a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University. He is the author of books on the Bible and on world literature and is the general editor of The Longman Anthology of World Literature. He lives in New York City.

About William Hughes

William Hughes is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. A professor of political science at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon, he received his doctorate in American politics from the University of California at Davis. He has done voice-over work for radio and film and is also an accomplished jazz guitarist.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jim on September 08, 2013

This book is a collection of stories, essays and mini-biographies. The mini-biographies focus on two Nineteenth Century archaeologists, George Smith and Hormuzd Rassam, both employees of the British Museum working to uncover relics of ancient Babylon in what is now Iraq. Their work leads to the coll......more

Goodreads review by Jim on August 26, 2013

See the tablet-box of cedar, release its clasp of bronze! Lift the lid of its secret, pick up the tablet of lapis lazuli and read out the travails of Gilgamesh, all that he went through.* So begins the epic that Steven Moore "would love to claim as the world's first novel" – the cornerstone of world lite......more

Goodreads review by Nicky on April 13, 2017

The Epic of Gilgamesh is some of the oldest literature we have access to, so you’d be forgiven for imagining it must have had a huge influence on subsequent mythology. The truth is, it was only rediscovered relatively recently, via archaeology, decipherment and a fair amount of politics. And of cour......more

Goodreads review by Tom LA on September 15, 2020

Wonderful work by a Columbia professor (at the time of publication of the book) of English and comparative literature. The book takes us through the history of the recent discovery of the epic of Gilgamesh (the very first written epic that we have knowledge of, about 4,000 years old) by some archeol......more

Goodreads review by Andrea on August 22, 2014

I didn’t know much about Gilgamesh when I started this book so it proved very educational. The structure was interesting in that the narrative moved from the events and peoples who discovered the cuneiform tablets and translated them to the life and times of the ancient rulers who created the librar......more

Quotes

“Damrosch’s fascinating literary sleuthing will appeal to scholars and lay readers alike as they ponder the intricacies of cuneiform, the abuses heaped on the Iraqi Rassam and the working-class Smith by the Victorian class system, and recent Gilgamesh-inspired novels by Philip Roth and Saddam Hussein.” Publishers Weekly (starred review) 

“As astounding as the content of the Epic of Gilgamesh, in which the questing hero travels to the underworld and back, is the manner of its discovery and recovery…Damrosch’s summary narrative of the epic excels both in dramatization and thematic explanation…A superb and engrossing popular presentation.” Booklist (starred review)

“William Hughes reads with a lively tone that makes the story of the epic’s rediscovery as exciting as the epic itself, drawing readers into the lives and ambitions of Smith, who gradually grew into the role of archaeological explorer, and Hormuzd Rassam, who continued Smith’s work after his death.” AudioFile

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