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The Man Who Deciphered Linear B: The Story of Michael Ventris
 
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The Man Who Deciphered Linear B: The Story of Michael Ventris (Hardcover)

by Andrew Robinson (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.95
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 168 pages
  • Publisher: Thames & Hudson (8 April 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0500510776
  • ISBN-13: 978-0500510773
  • Product Dimensions: 22.5 x 14.6 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 263,591 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

The first book to tell not just the story of the decipherment of Linear B, Europe's oldest readable script, but also that of Michael Ventris, the 'modest genius' who cracked the code.


Product Description

Linear B is Europe's oldest readable writing, dating from the middle of the second millennium BC. First discovered in 1900, on clay tablets among the ruins of the Palace of Minos at Knossos, Crete, it remained a mystery for over fifty years until 1952, when Michael Ventris discovered that its signs did not represent an unknown language as previously believed, but an archaic dialect of Greek, more than 500 years older than the Greek of Homer. Dubbled 'the Everest of archaeology', the decipherment was all the more remarkable because Ventris was not a trained classical scholar but an architect by profession, who had first heard of linear B as a schoolboy. An initial fascination became a lifelong obsession for this intriguing and contradictory man, a gifted linguist but a divided soul. This is the first book to tell not just the story of Linear B but that of the 'modest genius' who broke the code.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look at a complex man, 10 Aug 2004
There were many sides to Michael Ventris. A modernist architect reluctantly obsessed with an ancient culture. A Communist who once made more in a lunch time on a shares deal than he was to make in the rest of the year in his day job. Respected by academics world-wide for his work on linear-B, yet he never completed a degree himself. This book provides a surprisingly clear look at the man, yet leaves enough gaps for the reader to be intrigued. You are likely to enjoy this book if you liked Simon Singh's The Code Book or Andrew Hodges The Enigma of Intelligence.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Ideal starting point, 18 Aug 2008
By G. L. Haggett "glynlhaggett" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This book provides an ideal starting point for the interested layman who is fascinated by the subject matter and intrigued by the people who set about the Herculean task of deciphering Linear B.

Robinson openly admits that this book is not an attempt at an exhaustive biography of Ventris nor of his work; instead, it acts as a taster of a fascinating man and of the conflict between his architectural training and the expectations, both internal and external, associated with that and his obsession with ancient scripts, leading up to his untimely and mysterious death. Excellent value.
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