In the tradition of Simon Winchester and Dava Sobel; The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code tells one of the most intriguing stories in the history of language; masterfully blending history; linguistics; and cryptology with an elegantly wrought narrative. When famed archaeologist Arthur Evans unearthed the ruins of a sophisticated Bronze Age civilization that flowered on Crete 1;000 years before Greece’s Classical Age; he discovered a cache of ancient tablets; Europe’s earliest written records. For half a century; the meaning of the inscriptions; and even the language in which they were written; would remain a mystery. Award-winning New York Times journalist Margalit Fox's riveting real-life intellectual detective story travels from the Bronze Age Aegean—the era of Odysseus; Agamemnon; and Helen—to the turn of the 20th century and the work of charismatic English archeologist Arthur Evans; to the colorful personal stories of the decipherers. These include Michael Ventris; the brilliant amateur who deciphered the script but met with a sudden; mysterious death that may have been a direct consequence of the deipherment; and Alice Kober; the unsung heroine of the story whose painstaking work allowed Ventris to crack the code.
#107390 in Books Newkirk Pamela 2016-09-06 2016-09-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .77 x 5.31l; .65 #File Name: 0062201026336 pagesSpectacle The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga
Review
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful. you want to hide information; put it in a bookBy MAYA'S BOOKS N THINGSI found it very mind-boggling to read about a human being that was taken from his native land and put on display at a zoo for all of the world to see like some caged animal. Even though the book is not solely about Benga; I learned so many more facts about other things from reading this book. This was a great history lesson.My favorite line in this book... "Minik cried; you're a race of scientific criminals; I am glad enough to get away before they grab my brains and stuff them in a jar".It's disturbing to know that people study other cultures and somehow want to change a person's way of life to suit your own. Its like invading someone's personal space. They actually called them savages when the real savages are the ones that go into these different environments and try to change them11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. HeartbreakingBy wittknitWhat a well written book. The fact that Newkirk chose to tell Benga's story by giving such rich historical facts of the state of our nation at that time; the beliefs of the rich; powerful and educated men . By doing so it brings clearer light to Ota Benga's journey.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. It is amazing the amount of things that are not mentioned in ...By JoyfulLittleRiverThis was a very timely read given the threat of North Korea on Guam; a place most people in the U.S. do not even know is a U.S. territory. Although this book does not specifically discuss Guam; it does focus on the imperialism of the U.S. which is very much related to Guam.It is amazing the amount of things that are not mentioned in the classroom when discussing U.S. history. This book speaks to the imperialist past of the U.S. by highlighting a very specific story that illustrates this seemingly forgotten past.Ota Benga was kidnapped from his home in the Congo to be put on display at the St. Louis World's Fair as well as the Bronx Zoo. At the time the science community; specifically the anthropological community; was very focused on displaying the superiority of the white race; relative to African people; specifically ones like Ota Benga (he was a Mbuti pygmy).Pamela Newkirk did an amazing job researching what she could on the information available on Ota Benga. A lot of the available information was skewed and/or biased given that it was not coming directly from Ota Benga. Nevertheless; she did a wonderful job letting the reader know that this was not necessarily the truth and to be skeptical. I appreciated though that she presented the information available in a matter of fact manner to allow the reader to make their own judgment on the information presented.The length of the book was perfect. I realize that it is hard with these sort of topics to know how much to put it and what to leave out. Additionally; Pamela integrated details on the African-American community of the time; beyond just the scope of their role in the release of Ota Benga from the Bronx Zoo. However; what stood out to me the most was the incorporation of the role the St. Louis World's Fair; zoos; museums and anthropology played in the imperialism of the U.S. It is not often that you happen upon a book that is able to cover such a breadth of topics and so well. Pamela Newkirk not only gave justice to the story of Ota Benga; but successfully used his tragic life story as a means to explain the greater forces at work. "The presence of Benga and his countrymen-- along with the Native American; the Filipinos and Igorot; and the Japanese Ainu--was intended to highlight the United States' conquests; imperialism; and progress". - Pamela Newkirk
