The Writing of the Gods

The Race to Decode the Rosetta Stone

By: Edward Dolnick

Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi

The fast-paced and “engrossing account” (The New York Times Book Review) of “one of the greatest breakthroughs in archaeological history” (The Christian Science Monitor): two rival geniuses in a race to decode the writing on one of the world’s most famous documents—the Rosetta Stone.

The Rosetta Stone is one of the most famous objects in the world, attracting millions of visitors to the British museum every year, and yet most people don’t really know what it is. Discovered in a pile of rubble in 1799, this slab of stone proved to be the key to unlocking a lost language that baffled scholars for centuries.

Carved in ancient Egypt, the Rosetta Stone carried the same message in different languages—in Greek using Greek letters, and in Egyptian using picture-writing called hieroglyphs. Until its discovery, no one in the world knew how to read the hieroglyphs that covered every temple and text and statue in Egypt.

Dominating the world for thirty centuries, ancient Egypt was the mightiest empire the world had ever known, yet everything about it—the pyramids, mummies, the Sphinx—was shrouded in mystery. Whoever was able to decipher the Rosetta Stone would solve that mystery and fling open a door that had been locked for two thousand years.

Two brilliant rivals set out to win that prize. One was English, the other French, at a time when England and France were enemies and the world’s two great superpowers. Written “like a thriller” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis), The Writing of the Gods chronicles this high-stakes intellectual race in which the winner would win glory for both himself and his nation. A riveting portrait of empires both ancient and modern, this is an unparalleled look at the culture and history of ancient Egypt, “and also a lesson…in what the human mind does when faced with a puzzle” (The New Yorker).

Interesting subject

I found this an illuminating and informative book, well written. I liked the pace of the narrative, too.

Amazing race

Wish I’d read this in high school. It would have pointed me in a totally different direction.

Good book awful reading

The book is very good, lots of interesting information. Where do the accents come from ? The reader is imagining what people sounded like ? He even mispronounces Rosetta Stone.

An eye opening history

The history of the deciphering of hieroglyphics and the Rosetta Stone. A story of far greater complexity than the usual school book explanation. Vignettes about historical events leading to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, The collection of ancient papyri, and the men whose obsession lead to its decoding.

Loved it

Great topic. Real Indiana Jones research and discovery. Makes you want to take classes in Egyptology