History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History

Perfect. Exactly as described.

I had fun reading Samuel Noah Kramer's book "History Begins at Sumer". This isn't a typical history book. It doesn't go into any detail at all about the different city-states of Sumer, who ruled what lands, where Sumer was, or even mention any dates or events of any widespread significance, etc.What this most unique book is is a collection of 39 essays on daily life taken almost exclusively from information recorded on 4,00 year old cuneiform tablets. There's an essay on a tablet, Kramer describes, where a father tries to convince his son to study hard and become a scribe, how a farmer should tend to his fields, Sumerian proverbs and wisdom, and Sumerian mythology stories. There's even an essay on sexuality. If you can imagine the Sumerians were a little less inhibited than we are about these matters! There are extensive quotations from these tablets, so you surely get the full flavor of the Sumerian experience right from the source.What most people don't realize is that there are now perhaps tens of thousands of tablets with Sumerian language essays and documentations in existence that only in the mid 1800's became translatable. This opened up a vast world of insight into a civilization that was in many ways one of the first to use written language extensively yet had vanished beneath the sands of the Mesopotamian desert in 1500 BC. It also means that unlike civilizations and cultures that came before us, the Sumerian civilization in large part failed to gets its due credit.Surprisingly, there aren't many scholars who can read these tablets and from what I understand thousands of them still sit undeciphered in the British Museum and many more lay buried and many more were recently illegally excavated, heading for antiquities auctions during the current turmoil in Iraq.Kramer was probably one of the worlds foremost scholars on these tablets and he writes beautifully and effortlessly, like you're reading an article in the New Yorker literary magazine.Lastly, although Kramer doesn't come right out and say it, I believe his passion to understand and write about the Sumerian culture is that he is probably Jewish and it appears that many of the Bible stories were taken from the Sumerians, including the flood, Eden, and a "rib" story, and Abraham was born in Ur. The Old Testament was complied somewhere between 1200 BC and 200 BC. The Sumerians wrote the same stories down perhaps over a millennium before that.

A very readable book for anyone who enjoys or has to study human history. The author provides a wonderful look into lives lived so long ago. What is depressing is after the gap of around 5-6 thousand years, we as a the human race still confront the same issues, from power grasping rulers, medical cures and teenagers who don’t listen. The author, Samuel Noah Kramer, states there are many more Sumerian tablets yet to be translated. Would that there were more people with the skills and interest in this narrow field of expertise to continue the process of widening the window into this, our ancient past, the birthplace of so many “firsts” !!!

My knowledge of the Sumerians is about zero. I purchased the book out of curiosity and in particular any information it might provide regarding Old Testament accounts of early mankind.Looking at other reviews I noted that several reviewers panned the book as being out of date and the new edition not adding any new insights or information. To me this made no difference. Others have noted that the author makes considerable reference to himself and his achievements. To me this bit of hubris actually makes the book a little more readable. What Kramer's book does provide great insight into everyday lives of people who lived four thousand years ago. For example there was a god for everything including the pickax. The Sumerians had no concept of cause and effect. Rulers always preached peace, social justice, and equality but that never really happened. Sound familiar?With regard to the Old Testament there are several "myths" that were carried over and adopted by the Jews. Including the Garden of Eden, the conflict between Cain and Able in the form of bickering between shepherds and farmers, and Noah and the flood. I found this curious as Kramer is a Jew and we might think that these and other tales might put Old Testament orthodoxy into doubt. Kramer evidently does not see this as a problem.Now a note about translation. It's incredibly hard. Words change meanings in short periods of time and looking back forty centuries meanings must be very, very difficult to determine.. By the way, Looking at photos and drawings of the clay tablets, I have no idea how anyone figured out what all this stuff meant. For example, as the scribes were all male there are several references to female genitalia. Kramer uses different words in different places. Did the Sumerians really have the words vulva and pudendum or is this Kramer sanitizing the writing? Also slightly irritating is the Sumerian tendency to repeat phrases, I skipped over some of that.Still very interesting book, dated or not. One thing more. The cover is tightly bound light paper and the dear reader must be careful to not crack the spine.

Provided much insight through the first written records of what is now so deeply weaved into the fabric of our everyday lives that we don't give much thought to. Would definitely recommend to the curious readers wanting to peer into humanity's past.

Its really gross when you live in Colorado.

An excellent book, and a truly wonderful romp through history. Buy the book. Read it. Learn from it. It is well worth every penny. Believe me. Trust me.

I bought this book to further clarify the origin of the stories (myths) of the Bible -- Genesis creation story, Noah and the flood, Moses and the Law, resurrection stories, etc. This book enlightens one on this and much more. Easy and entertaining read (though serious). Fascinating to learn about the most ancient known civilization, and how its mythologists and poets and stories (as recorded on tablets) have shaped subsequent civilizations and gave rise to ancient pagan religions and our own modern religions.