Book Talk with Joshua Hammer
July 16, at 4:30 pm, Joshua Hammer will be presenting maps, Victorian-era sketches, and photos in celebration of his newly published book, THE MESOPOTAMIAN RIDDLE: An Archaeologist, a Soldier, a Clergyman and the Race to Decipher the World’s Oldest Writing (Simon & Schuster).
THE MESOPOTAMIAN RIDDLE is a fast-paced adventure story about the decades-long quest of three free-spirited Victorians to decipher cuneiform, the oldest writing in the world. Hammer’s specialty is exhilarating adventure stories, and readers who loved his previous books will be captivated by the swashbuckling archaeologist, the suave military-officer-turned-diplomat, and the cloistered Irish rector, as they race to decipher cuneiform and reveal the secrets of lost civilizations. Chronicling decades of fierce competition, global adventures, and exciting revelations, THE MESOPOTAMIAN RIDDLE is unputdownable as Hammer takes readers from ancient Mesopotamia to Ottoman-era Iraq to 19th century London and beyond.
From the ruins of Persepolis to lawless outposts of the crumbling Ottoman Empire, The Mesopotamian Riddle whisks you on a wild adventure through the golden age of archaeology in an epic quest to understand our past.
Joshua Hammer is the New York Times bestselling author of six books, including The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, The Falcon Thief, and The Mesopotamian Riddle. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, GQ, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and Outside. He lives in Berlin.
This event is free and open to the public.
Click here to listen to Joshua Hammer on Dan Snow’s History Hit : The Mystery of Mesopotamia
Jun 09 2025 • 38 mins
Today we journey back 5,500 years to the dawn of urban civilisation, in the mud-brick metropolis of Uruk. We hear how their ancient cuneiform script was lost to time, until being dramatically rediscovered in the 19th century.
Joining us is Joshua Hammer, a former war correspondent and author of ‘The Mesopotamian Riddle’. He explains how three unlikely characters – a dashing archaeologist, an officer turned diplomat and a reclusive clergyman – raced one another to decipher this mysterious script and unlock the secrets of long-lost empires.
Produced by Mariana des Forges and James Hickmann, and edited by Tim Arstall.