Karen Radner

There is no doubt that Karen Radner (°1972, professor at the University of Munich and University College London) is well versed in the history of the Assyrian Empire, as evidenced by her very long list of publications. And in this booklet she demonstrates her knowledge and skills in a convincing way. Only, for the layman it is not so well structured in my opinion. Radner follows a rather thematic approach, so that as an unsuspecting reader you do not always realize that she moves through eras that are sometimes many hundreds of years apart. The Assyrians were prominent in Mesopotamian history from ca 1900 BCE to 500 BCE, but at great intervals. Radner's approach makes those different phases seem like one big mess of the same thing. On the other hand, her thematic approach also offers advantages: I found the chapters in which she highlights concrete persons from various social backgrounds especially interesting. More on Assyriology, in my review in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4727241266… (more)