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This intriguing book by a master historian explores the ancient story of Noah and the Flood--its origins in pre-Biblical culture, its development in Western thought over 2,000 years, and its fascination for theologians, scientists, and even psychoanalysts. Generously illustrated throughout, the book includes compelling accounts of individuals who endorsed or rejected the story, and of painters, sculptors, poets, dramatists, and composers who found inspiration in it.
""[A] delightfully illustrated, as well as an engrossing read. [Cohn] charts the increasingly desperate efforts needed to reconcile the Flood and the Ark with the fossil record and the decipherment of other ancient mythologies, apart from that of the Hebrews."" - Jasper Griffin, The Spectator
""It is the interplay between the religious commitment to belief in the book of Genesis, and a scientific pursuit of causal explanations (including some pretty bizarre ones), that occupies the heart of this book and gives it its real fascination. The lesson that it teaches is that what counts as a 'rational' explanation will vary from one period to another."" - Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph
""An enthralling account of how the story of the Flood, which originated in Mesopotamia, influenced both Jewish and Christian thinking throughout history. The splendid illustrations enhance the elegant text."" - Anthony Storr, Financial Times
""A new book by Norman Cohn calls for celebration. Both the text and the pictures of Noah's Flood are a delight. . . . Cohn is a learned, scrupulous scholar whose conclusions are always backed up by rigorous research, and who writes wonderfully elegant prose. At the same time, he is a bold and innovative historian who has ventured into previously unexplored areas of the history of ideas."" - Anthony Storr, Literary Review
""An attractive brief survey of the fortunes and uses of the Flood story, ranging from ancient Mesopotamia to the equally alien territory of twentieth-century American creationism......A highly readable summary of what successive authors thought and wrote about the Flood, its physical traces and its religious meaning......A book that is well worth a read by anyone with an interest in the historical roots of modern scientific study of the Earth."" - Martin Rudwick, Nature
""This lavishly illustrated book offers lively insight into an odd corner of intellectual history."" - Richard Coggins, Expository Times
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