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Walls: A History of Civilization in Blood and Brick
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About Walls: A History Of Civilization In Blood And Brick
Product Description "A lively popular history of an oft-overlooked element in the development of human society" (Library Journal)--walls-- and a haunting and eye-opening saga that reveals a startling link between what we build and how we live. For thousands of years, people have built walls and assaulted them,admired walls and reviled them. Great walls have appeared on everycontinent, the handiwork of Persians, Romans, Chinese, Inca, Ukrainians, and dozens of other peoples. They have accompanied the rise of cities,nations, and empires. And yet they rarely appear in our history books. In Walls, David Frye makes a powerful case for rewriting history. Drawing onevidence from around the world, as well as his own experiences onarchaeological digs, Frye takes us on a provocative and occasionallyhumorous journey across windswept deserts and grassy, Northumbrianhills. As Frye guides us through a maze of exotic locales, investigating the coldest of cold cases, he gradually exposes a broader story withimplications for the present as well as the past. The history of wallsbecomes more than a tale of bricks and stone; it becomes the story ofwho we are and how we came to be. Review "Fascinating and extensively researched, it's a timely reminder that the world, from gated communities to national borders, is increasingly fencing itself off." --The Herald " Walls, David Frye's fascinating and timely analysis of the rise andfall of empires, religions, cultures and languages, is so compellinglyreadable because it urges us to look closely at human artefacts soeveryday, so ordinary that we only rarely see themas instruments of power and authority." --The Australian "[Told] with eloquence and panache . . . [Frye] is enviably good atturning historical and archaeological evidence into vivid prose, and his writing is as clear as on any wall." --Wall Street Journal "A haunting and brilliant achievement" --Tom Holland, author of Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic "David Frye's Walls turns 5,000 years of history outsidein. Instead of focusing on the centers of civilizations, he illuminatesthe boundaries where civilizations collide. From ancient Mesopotamiathrough Rome to the presidency of Donald Trump, Frye brilliantly crafts a unique view of history with valuable lessons for today." --Jack Weatherford, New York Times bestselling author of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World About the Author David Frye is a professional historian, whose views have been sought ininterviews by the Science Channel, CNBC, National Geographic, theHistory Channel, BBC Radio, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Wired,and many other media outlets. A specialist in late ancient history,Frye received his PhD from Duke University and has participated inseveral archaeological excavations internationally. His articles haveappeared in a variety of academic journals, popular websites, magazines, and blogs, including McSweeney's, Time, BBC World History, Medium, andMHQ. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Walls Midwife to Civilization: Wall Builders at the Dawn of History THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST, 2500–500 BC The great wall of Shulgi has not survived, but then, how could it? Time lay heavily across the landscape of Mesopotamia. Like some relentlessly pressing weight, it sought to smother everything that would rise up out of the flat alluvial plains of ancient Iraq. Its effects there were uncharacteristically swift, almost impatient; it destroyed things before it could age them. As early as the third millennium BC, the Mesopotamians already had a word—dul—for the shapeless lumps of dead cities that even then dotted the horizons, having long ago melted like wax under the sun. Dul eventually gave way to an Arabic word, tell, which reflected the growing obscurity shrouding the region’s past. To the Bedouins whose animals meandered around the unsightly mounds, the tells were nothing more than insignific
