Engaging ... Another pleasure afforded by the book is watching decipherers at work ... An engrossing reminder that some of the most exhilarating adventures of all can be had by puzzle-solvers.
[An] epic intellectual adventure ... Mr. Hammer’s ability to skip from philology to Great Game intrigue, from biblical sources to the “Assyria fever” that swept London, is extraordinary. The Mesopotamian Riddle builds to its climactic test of ingenuity and balances modern and ancient elements throughout.
Hammer makes this true story as exciting as any work of fiction; this is no dry recitation of events, but a lively, suspense-filled story of adventurers and their quest to be the first to unlock the hidden rooms of history. Quite simply a wonderful book.
