The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character

Phoenix Books

By: Samuel Noah Kramer

Narrated by: Nigel Patterson

The Sumerians, the pragmatic and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums BC. This book is an unparalleled compendium of what is known about them.

Professor Kramer communicates his enthusiasm for his subject as he outlines the history of the Sumerian civilization and describes their cities, religion, literature, education, scientific achievements, social structure, and psychology. Finally, he considers the legacy of Sumer to the ancient and modern world.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©1963 The University of Chicago Press (P)2024 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An uncontested authority on the civilization of Sumer, Professor Kramer writes with grace and urbanity." -Library Journal

Slow at times

The book had some slow areas that were a bit tedious but the readings were over 3500 years old also. Overall excellent and informative

How much Sumerian life reflects modern life

It was a fairly comprehensive study that gives us the opportunity to see the beginnings of civilization from a different perspective

Detailed but Dry

I liked the detail into which the author went into the subject matter, particularly Sumerian literature. But a lot of time is taken up by the narrator vocalizing every blank and question mark.

Lots I never knoww

This was a nice (and deep) introduction into what was know of Sumerian history, literature, and culture when it was written. It is probably significantly outdated, but I still enjoyed it. As another listener stated, I did have to fast forward through some of the reading of the texts due to the inability to understand with all of the "question mark" and "blank". But the texts were summarized and this only happened during two of the long passages. I'm interested in an updated version written!