Why people recommend it
The Ark Before Noah by Irving Finkel is a fascinating historical and archaeological examination that decodes the ancient cuneiform tablets describing the story of the great flood before the biblical account. On the podcast People I (Mostly) Admire in the episode titled 169. Decoding the World’s First Writing, released on October 25, 2025, host Steve Levitt discussed the subject with guest Irving Finkel. Towards the conclusion of their conversation exploring ancient writing systems and cuneiform, Steve Levitt directly recommended the guest's published work to the listening audience. He suggested that if listeners wanted to deepen their understanding of the flood narrative and explore the subject further, they should pick up Finkel's book. Levitt provided the exact title so that fans of the show could easily find the publication and learn more about the archaeological findings and linguistic decipherments discussed during the interview. The recommendation highlighted the accessibility and depth of Finkel's research, bridging academic scholarship on ancient Mesopotamia with popular interest in foundational historical stories that continue to resonate across modern cultural and religious traditions today.
Who recommended it
- Steve Levitt Recommended
Steve Levitt — 1 mention
“If you'd like to learn more about the ark story, Irving's book is called The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood.”
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“It was a tablet about eight inches by three. Not the whole flood story, which is a complex narrative which ended up in the Gilgamesh narrative much, much later, but this one was an early narrative”