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The First Ghosts
- Most Ancient of Legacies
- Narrated by: Irving Finkel
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
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The First Ghosts
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Summary
Dr Irving Finkel, curator at the British Museum, explores why the belief in ghosts is what makes us human.
There are few things more in common across cultures than the belief in ghosts. Ghosts inhabit something of the very essence of what it is to be human. Whether we personally 'believe' or not, we are all aware of ghosts and the rich mythologies and rituals surrounding them. They have inspired, fascinated and frightened us for centuries - yet most of us are only familiar with the vengeful apparitions of Shakespeare, or the ghastly spectres haunting the pages of 19th-century Gothic literature. But their origins are much, much older....
The First Ghosts: Most Ancient of Legacies takes us back to the very beginning. A world-renowned authority on cuneiform, the form of writing on clay tablets that dates back to 3400 BC, Irving Finkel has embarked upon an ancient ghost hunt, scouring these tablets to unlock the secrets of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians to breathe new life into the first ghost stories ever written. In The First Ghosts, he uncovers an extraordinarily rich seam of ancient spirit wisdom that has remained hidden for nearly 4,000 years, covering practical details of how to live with ghosts, how to get rid of them and bring them back and how to avoid becoming one, as well as exploring more philosophical questions: what are ghosts, why does the idea of them remain so powerful despite the lack of concrete evidence and what do they tell us about being human?
What listeners say about The First Ghosts
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- Father of 2
- 22-12-23
5 millenia of ghosts
Irving Finkel examines the very long history of ghosts. Brilliant. Makes me want to learn Akkadian. Perhaps I should say relearn.
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- Sam Lucas
- 18-01-22
Entertaining, engaging and historical
Irving Finkel does it again, what more can I say. He is bringing the wonderful world of ancient mesopotamia to a wider audience, while being indepth enough to be interesting to the informed reader.
The entertaining and engaging style does a fantastic job of bringing his ideas and time period a live, while using a lot of primary source quotes. All while masking the difficult name of gods, rulers and places, that is often the pit fall of mesopotamian history.
Mr Finkel is proving to be to a fantastic and entertaining personality and the audio book version adds a bit more Finkel magic to the material.
If you read this Mr Finkel please continue with these fantastic books!
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- mark
- 18-07-22
Great read
An excellent review of the evidence surrounding ghosts in the earliest Mesopotamia. The texts are brought alive and the acceptance of ghosts as part of everyday life is vividly explained. Dr Finkel conveys his enthusiasm and respect for these people in his own vivid style.
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- Saad Kamoona
- 21-05-22
Ghost history never being told before
very interesting and new perspective of ghost and after life. An ancient history and oldest written history never being studied before.
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- Robert
- 17-08-22
fascinating historical investigation
This is a superbly narrated glimpse into ancient history. The relevance to modern attitudes is also illuminating. I often find authors do not make the best readers of their own works but in this case it works wonderfully. He is such a captivating and engaging reader. Bravo!
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- Professor Joan Lockyer
- 08-03-24
Marvellous
The inimical Irving Finkel reads his own fascinating book beautifully, nobody else could have done it.
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- Anonymous User
- 14-03-22
Irving is the man! THE MAN
Loved both books, god I wish I could find the time to learn cuneiform. I have decided to travel to the UK too see the collections when possible. It is now on a bucketlist.
I will buy every book you write Irving, make my words. TWICE even if those money would help you to write more. (I don't know how it works with companies like audio books and buying the hardcover.
Lastly I want to thank Mr Irving himself, for sharing all of this with us. The legitimate high point of my day's have been to drink thea and listen to this before bedtime. The more information I gather on those times, the more I marvel. They were such an exceptional people and society! The Ark before Noah was and now this. I have to find some way or learning to write and cuneiform, somehow I'll squeeze some extra time and learn it. It's basically a must before going to the brittish museum for the first time. I will use my power of womanly nagging until my partner lerents. I simply have to see it
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- David J. Smith
- 30-08-23
Superb on all levels!
This audibook is an absolute treasure, packed with interesting historical details and is very well performed.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-02-22
Dr Irving Finkel is a master.
I can't recommend him enough, be it his books or the videos and lectures he takes part in, (especially his talks on Ghosts as they'll serve as a good basis to familiarise yourself with the topic and provide visuals of the tablets and sources. Whilst not strictly necessary, it can act as an advance taste test before moving onto the book proper, but honestly just watching his performances is a pleasure in itself.)
Dr Irving Finkel effortlessly combines the necessary knowledge you'd expect from a non fiction book with a level of humour that keeps the listener engaged and entertained.
Whilst not an in-depth look into the culture and beliefs as a whole, he does provide enough background to the relevant areas that you don't feel over burdened or more importantly lost and disconnected. And where he makes informed hypotheses on the subjects that original sources and tablets could be damaged or missing, he effectively walks you through why he believes things to be his way, again without overburdening the casual listener with an abundance of technical knowledge.
Highly recommended. and Dr Finkel should you read this I'd be delighted to attend one of your dinner parties you mention.
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- mec
- 01-01-23
Dr Finkel at his best.
Erudite, witty, never dry or dull. I found this an absolutely riveting listen. Binged listened over two days. Highly recommended, would love to own it on cd.
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