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'In this present short book - lucid, concise and admirable - Chadwick tells us something of Ventris and his mind, and of the problems involved in the decipherment of Minoan-Mycenaean scripts. It is written for the layman and very well written. It is not only an account of a startling piece of philological and archaeological research, but a simple, moving human story.' The Spectator
Review
'In this present short book - lucid, concise and admirable - Chadwick tells us something of Ventris and his mind, and of the problems involved in the decipherment of Minoan-Mycenaean scripts. It is written for the layman and very well written. It is not only an account of a startling piece of philological and archaeological research, but a simple, moving human story.' The Spectator
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The urge to discover secrets is deeply ingrained in human nature; even the least curious mind is roused by the promise of sharing knowledge withheld from others. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The urge to discover secrets is deeply ingrained in human nature; even the least curious mind is roused by the promise of sharing knowledge withheld from others. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The decipherment of this ancient Mycenaean script from about 1400 BC was one of the great mystery stories of the 20th Century. John Chadwick is an expert in archaic Greek, who assisted Michael Ventris in deciphering the thousands of clay tablets discovered in the ruins of Knossos and Pylos. Ventris's demonstration that the language was an archaic form of Greek rocked the world of Ancient Greek history. In this book, Chadwick gives a popular account of the decipherment, somewhat light on the technical details of Ventris's discoveries, but with a good section on what the translated records show of Mycenaean society. The book was written in the 1950s but has a modern postscript which shows that most of the original findings still stand today.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This slim volume elegantly and concisely describes the process by which Michael Ventris deciphered the Linear B script. The story is worth telling, not least because Ventris was an amateur scholar - working as a professional architect while pursuing this work as a hobby in his spare time. It was written by Ventris' close collaborator, John Chadwick, shortly after the decipherment and this proximity to the events described allows Chadwick to convey to the reader some of the excitement of discovery.
The book was prepared for the general reader so does not require any great specialist knowledge. As such, it is heartily recommended to anyone with an interest in learning more about the topic. The story is made poignant by the tragic death in a road accident of Michael Ventris in 1956, a couple of years after the main events described. Chadwick's own sense of loss can be seen through the text.
My copy dates from 1961 so lacks the later postscript but, such was the quality of the original work by Ventris and Chadwick, the content remains relevant today in all its essentials.
The book was prepared for the general reader so does not require any great specialist knowledge. As such, it is heartily recommended to anyone with an interest in learning more about the topic. The story is made poignant by the tragic death in a road accident of Michael Ventris in 1956, a couple of years after the main events described. Chadwick's own sense of loss can be seen through the text.
My copy dates from 1961 so lacks the later postscript but, such was the quality of the original work by Ventris and Chadwick, the content remains relevant today in all its essentials.
Format:Paperback
This is a very well written book. However,I would only recommend it to those who have at least a good interest in codes; otherwise it will be a waste of money and time. But for those who bear a real enthusiasm for the topic will be able to better appreciate, understand and value the information it provides the reader with.
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Top marks
I have no particular interest in linguistics or ancient history and came across this book by chance. Read more
Published 13 months ago by RicardoWensleydale
An Enthralling Read
This book engages the instinct of curiousity as if one were a philosophical detective or voyeur,which instinct,in a way,is the one that underpins an interest or practise in or of... Read more
Published on 20 May 2010 by Ken Raus
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