Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C.

"Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C." is among the most ambitious museum exhibition catalogues ever issued. This massive book has contributions from 85 scholars, hundreds of superb photographs, and reference aids such as maps and comparative chronologies, all of which link cultures that three to four thousand years ago stretched from the Indus valley to the Aegean. Issued by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it accompanies a still-current exhibition that offers a great variety of first-class jewelry, ceramics, carvings, objects of everyday use and luxury consumption goods.The "Beyond Babylon" project reflects the vision of Met curator Joan Aruz, who sought to look at the past as "an integrated whole." With such an interest, she and other curators trained a strong light on trading patterns and key trading centers like Turkey and Syria. Sadly, the New York Times reported last month, the 55 objects to be lent by Syria made it only to the catalogue and not the show itself, for U.S. legislation of early 2008 posed a risk that objects coming from a country deemed a state sponsor of terrorism might be seized.The text of "Beyond Babylon" is dense, and the book manifests both the strengths and weaknesses that often come from having such a large number of contributors and being so lengthy. On the plus side is the extraordinary body of expertise that has benefitted both the exhibition and the catalogue. On the negative side, which is well outweighed by the positive but still somewhat worrisome, is a certain inconsistency and sloppiness in editing, proofreading, and index preparation. Moreover, given the wide-ranging number of cultures, places, dynasties, and dramatis personae cited, all but the most expert readers will need constant reference back to the chronology and maps that open the book. The inclusion of duplicate, removable reference aids would have helped in this regard.Equally complex is the structure of the catalogue. There is a chronological bifurcation into the middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 B.C.) and the late Bronze Age (1600-1150 B.C.). Within these sections, the catalogue breaks down by region, with occasional entries shoe-horned in for materials like cedar and lapis lazuli. Four additional sections of the book, one appearing between the chronological sections and the others after them, address overarching themes related to trade, travelling, and the art of exchange. They, like the introductions to the two chronological sections, help synthesize the abundance of data offered by "Beyond Babylon."Undoubtedly, this catalogue, which showcases numerous objects of surpassing beauty, will make its way onto coffee tables far and near. It will also prove a rich feast for research and will justify--and indeed require--repeated readings to fully plumb what is offered.

Sadly, this book was edited with significant carelessness or an utter disregard (hatred of?) the general reader.On the 2nd page of lead-editor Joan Aruz' Introduction there are two obvious errors a minimum-wage copy-editor should have noticed.In figure 1 a talent is defined as 60 pounds, and then 14 talents 30 pounds is identified as "about 1230 pounds". Do the math. (And from data in the rest of the figure, the 60-pound definition appears correct.)In the text, Lebanon's Beqa Valley is referred to as 100 meters long. For those not familiar with the metric system, that is about 10% longer than a US football field.When there are such obvious errors, one must distrust the text in general. Errors one cannot identify as such can turn one's hope of acquiring knowledge into becoming a font of misinformation.In the reader-hating category, rather than provide simple dates for figures (that is, something like "circa 1880 BC") one gets "Dynasty 12, reign of of Senwosrett II". So one is constantly obligated to go back to the chronology at the front of the book to track down a more meaningful dating.As a result, this book is worth its cost (even at Amazon's generous discount) only to someone wanting something impressive-looking (it is big & heavy) on a coffee table. The text, which is the overwhelming majority of the volume, is untrustworthy because of the editors' and publisher's incompetence or indifference. (And that is true even if the only 2 errors in the book are the 2 identified above, because a non-expert cannot be sure there are not other, subtle ones.)Pity.

Gorgeous illustrations - The title does not indicate that it is a catalogue for a very special international exhibition of mesopotamian artifacts at the Met museum - the descriptive texts are informative and sufficiently comprehensive - but the number of illustrations really make the book - and for such a huge volume the price is very low

This is a scholarly work, but I was surprised to find it to be so beautiful as well as informative. It is a large book at 9" x 12", but inside is a veritable goldmine of information, with 500+ pages and excellent appendices. It has stunning high-quality color photographs on virtually every page, and these were obviously taken by professional photographers with expertise in photographing museum objects. The printing is fine, on durable high-grade paper. The articles are well written from knowledgeable, professional sources -- some I have followed from professional journals. The price is phenomenally low for such a brilliant work.

Haven't gotten through this yet. It's very detailed and informative and BIG and heavy, and the print isn't large. Easier to look at pictures and then try to read up on one that interests you. Probably a good book for students to have. Seems to have a great deal of academic value.

A previous reviewer complained of inaccuracies, and they do exist. Pay close attention to dimensions, weights, etc. of artifacts if using this book for reference purposes, as there are a number of issues in this department. That said, the photos are stellar, and the collection is quite wonderful. If you have an interest in bronze age art and culture, get this book.

A very thorough study that compares early civilizations of the 2nd millenium BCE accross the ancient Near East. Excellent discussions of the objects with excellent photographs and maps.

This book was well received by the gift receiver. It has been passed on to several others who also loved it.

A beautifully produced book with valuable contributions from all the top people - like Dominique Collon on some of the many cylinder and stamp seals described and illustrated.Especially fascinating and informative are the one hundred or so pages devoted to the circumstances of the Late Bronze Age Uluburun shipwreck, and the details of items from its very varied cargo. Together with information about the crew and the construction of the vessel itself, this section alone paints a most vivid picture of life around the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the fourteenth century BCE.An essential companion to the earlier Met catalogue, Art of the First Cities, and highly recommended!

Great and massive volume. I particularly like the section on Uluburun, including the diagrams showing the position of the wreck. However, it's about time that this massively important and fascinating discovery was written up thoroughly and properly in its own volume/s.

Wow this is a weighty tome but crammed with fascinating images, texts - but not too much of this - and leaves you wishing you'd been to the exhibition which triggered it. Anyone interested in this era or doing ancient near east studies will enjoy looking at this book

Ausgezeichneter Katalog mit allen wichtigen Funden und Forschungsergebnissen. Sehr reich bebildert mit ausgezeichneten Fotos. Hinzu kommen sehr gute Beschreibungen und insgesamt tolle Artikel sowie Detailstudien. Ich habe das Buch für meine Sammlung gekauft und aber auch bereits drei Mal verschenkt.

Kam rechtzeit hier an und ist in sehr guter verfassung. Mich stört ja nicht wenn bücher schonmal gelesen wurden