By Danny P. Jackson
Illustrated by Thom Kapheim

More Reviews

Gilgamesh permits us to tie the ancient Near East and the ancient Mediterranean together like nothing else: no other document makes so clear the symbolism of the snake or the divine bull, or the situation of temple prostitution, or even the background of Plato's Aphrodite Pandemos and Aphrodite Ourania. They are all here in Gilgamesh, plain as day. These unifying tie-ins make it logical to use Gilgamesh as a lead-off text in a classical mythology course.

The Bolchazy-Carducci edition, more readable than its predecessors, makes it practicable. Students liked it, and for the professor it is one light bulb after another.

-- Thomas N. Winter
University of Nebraska

I welcome this edition of The Epic of Gilgamesh for making accessible to modern readers the poetry and the drama, presented in heroic terms of life, love, friendship and, finally the recognition and acceptance of the ultimate reality of human existence. It is one of the great epic tales surviving from the ancient world of "The Land Between-the-Two-Rivers," Mesopotamia, and though incomplete, reflects an ancient range of human experience and emotion not so far removed from our own...

The epic states, "When the gods created mankind, they allotted death to mankind, keeping life eternal for themselves."' Yet while death is inevitable, Jackson's lyrical and moving presentation gives renewed life to this wonderful tale of Gilgamesh.

-- Robert D. Biggs
The Oriental Institute
The University of Chicago

With Kapheim's remarkable woodcuts that go so well with Jackson's powerful poetry, and with Biggs' excellent introduction, including those fascinating photos of cuneiform tablets, ziggurats, and cylinder seals, the paperback is a steal... It should be an ideal textbook for a college (or high school) course in mythology or epic literature...

-- Anne Groton and Jim May
St. Olaf's College

The text is excellent in its clarity of story line and motif.

-- Jim Caputo
Instructor of English, Latin, Humanities
Regis University

[Epic of Gilgamesh] is an excellent achievement. It makes this great work accessible to college and general readers.

-- Kevin Herbert
Professor of Classics
Washington University

Splendid illustrations -- both photos and woodcuts. Readable translation for high school and college students.

-- Judith Sebesta
Professor of Classics
University of South Dakota

The text is attractive, appealing, accessible, helpful...I believe it is excellent in format. Handling the book, I felt I wanted to read it; having read the introductory material, I knew I wanted to read the text...

-- Sr. Anne Denise Brennan
Asst. Professor of English
College of Mount St. Vincent

I am very pleased with your edition. It will greatly facilitate my presentation of the epic and the students' understanding of it.

-- Dr. John Barry Ryan
Professor of Religious Studies
Manhattan College

The illustrations are moving. The price is wonderful for students. This version likely will become the version used in university classes.

-- Dr. Michael Desjaddins
Research Reader
Department for the Study of Religion
University of Toronto

The illustrations are sharp and applicable for discussion. Bravo on the verse rendition. Helpful in orienting students to ancient texts. Great price!

-- Rollin A. Ramsaran
Department of Religion
CLA Boston University

Your new text is most impressive! Because of its ease in reading and its visual appeal, some of my students have expressed an interest in using it as a subject of research papers. Thank you for sharing this copy of a much overlooked, great piece of literature...

-- Carolyn S. Miller
Chairman, Department of English
Norfolk Collegiate School

[Epic of Gilgamesh] makes very vivid for the reader the character of the poem as a pilgrimage through the delights and sadness of life. I would expect it to be very effective for the use in an undergraduate course.

-- Wilfred F. Bung
Professor of Religion
Luther College

Aiming to make this archaic story more accessible, the book features an introduction replete with black-and-white archaeological photographs to help create the ancient context of this story; gorgeous colored woodcuts illustrate the text; and flowing, vivid verse enhances this translation.

-- Biblical Archaeology Review

This is a refreshing edition; I am anxious to see the reactions of my students. I particularly like the photographs and references to the tablets and columns... The poetry is clear and readable.

-- Ann Thomas Wilkins
University of Pittsburgh

The modern idiom plus the continuous narrative of this rendering of Gilgamesh is a revelation.

-- Dr. Charles S.J. White
Professor and Chair
Department of Philosophy and Religion
The American University (Washington, DC)

Excellent introduction to a masterfully translated text that is simple, direct, and thought provoking... This is by far the most lucid edition I have read.

-- Ron Marchese
Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies
University of Minnesota at Duluth

...sensitive and vigorous.

-- Raymond J. Clark
Department of Classics
Memorial University of New Foundland

There are at least two audiences who will derive much pleasure from this latest attempt to breathe life into the dead bones -- or sundried clay tablets of this old epic. The first is students in university Myth classes, who will be able to grasp the story and its characters without being confused by scholarly minutiae. The second is those who are seeking in translations from the West's rich past a way to resurrect the art of poetry in our day, or to initiate its resurection in the next generation... Jackson's version tells the story in a clear and effective fashion, with attention to levels of language and effective form....As a whole, Jackson's work is lively, exciting, and dignified.

-- E. Christian Kopff
University of Colorado at Boulder

...reads wonderfully... has a wonderful character of wieght, seriousness, joy, and vitality of language...

-- Yvonne Korshak
Professor of Art History
Adelphi University

While we refer to ancient Mesopotamia as the "cradle of civilization," it is common practice to trace the roots of our Western philosophy, religion and literature to the Greeks and Romans of antiquity. Yet long before the myths and histories of these empires were imagined or penned, long before Judeo-Christian literature and doctrine was recorded, the song of the Gilgamesh, the first hero, was born in the cradle of civilization and was sung throughout the world around. And when there came to be a way to record the song for history, the first tale of man's search for his role in the cosmos was set in stone by ancient scribes.

Defining and coming to terms with human mortality has been the province of every system of religious beliefs throughout history. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the lusty and tender tale of one man's attempt to define and exceed the boundaries of the world outlines by his human and religious experience.

Gilgamesh was the first hero in the first recorded epic in which we first encounter the stories known best to us, perhaps, from the Bible. Adam and Eve, Paradise Lost and the Great Flood come to life on the tablets of the epic in haunting similarity to the later Biblical accounts.

This fascinating tale, so significant to Western thought, deserves a beautifully poetic, readable presentation. Whether the story is new to you, or a treasured favorite, Jackson's rendition fires the passion and the pathos of Gilgamesh into your heart and understanding.

-- Robert D. Biggs
The Oriental Institute
The University of Chicago

The Epic of Gilgamesh is...an integral part of the literary and mythological environment of the ancient world.

-- Pamela Vaughn
California State University, Fresno

The Epic of Gilgamesh is...the ancient prototype for the development of civilization...

-- E. Otha Wingo
Southeast Missouri State University

The Epic of Gilgamesh is...one of humanity's most magnificent poems.

-- Frederick Goldin
City College of New York