{"product_id":"book-ep7g","title":"The Writing of the Gods","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e fast-paced and “engrossing account” (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e) of “one of the greatest breakthroughs in archaeological history” (\u003ci\u003eThe Christian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e): two rival geniuses in a race to decode the writing on one of the world’s most famous documents—the Rosetta Stone.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCarved 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eDominating 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eTwo 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” (\u003ci\u003eStar Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e, Minneapolis),\u003ci\u003e The Writing of the Gods \u003c\/i\u003echronicles 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” (\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e).","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster Audio","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49346852159792,"sku":"BDep7g","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio CD","offer_id":49346852225328,"sku":"10ep7g","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/ep7g-Square-cover.jpg?v=1773695530","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-ep7g","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}