Dr Irving Finkel – Borders Book Festival 2021

Curator at the British Museum, Dr Irving Finkel has recognised that a belief in ghosts is an ancient legacy and he has embarked on a fascinating hunt for its origins. Hidden, hovering out of the sight of other historians, the ghosts of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians are brought out of the darkness in this riveting, unexpected account. Finkel takes the story even further as he asks what a belief in ghosts means despite a near-complete lack of proof that they exist. This is a wonderful, highly accessible example of excellent scholarship that illuminates the darker corners of our psyche.