The Linguist and the Emperor

About Daniel Meyerson

Photo © Adam Lukeman

Praise

Discussion Guides

1. In this book, author Daniel Meyerson has an unusual way of narrating history.Did his unique approach impact your view of the book’s events? If so,how?

2. Meyerson quotes La Rochefoucauld saying,“Language was given to human beings that they may conceal their thoughts from others.”How do you interpret this enigmatic statement?

3. Napoleon desired a place in history alongside greats like Caesar or Alexander. Do you feel he achieved his dream?

4. Napoleon is most famous as a conqueror and military genius, yet he brought printing presses and 167 scholars with him on his Egyptian conquest.Was Napoleon an idealist?

5. Napoleon and Champollion were drastically different, but both had great passion.How do you define passion and in what ways does it manifest?

6. Another La Rochefoucauld quote says,“It is easier to understand humanity in general than to understand a single human being.”Of Champollion and Napoleon, who do you understand more? What does Meyerson mean when he says of these men,“They are eternal types who have always existed and who always will”?

7. The decoded hieroglyphs seem like fables or fairy tales. Did you get a sense of what daily life in ancient Egypt was actually like from these ancient stories? How do you imagine that distant time and place?

8. This book tells a tale where learning and knowledge are the end result of varied historical elements (from madness and war to brilliance and bribery). What other human advances have been the accidental byproducts of historical conflict?

9. Who owns art? Is it appropriate that great works of ancient Egyptian art can be found in museums across the globe—from NewYork to Paris to Tokyo? Do these antiquities belong in Egypt?

10. Can you think of a modern equivalent of the Rosetta stone? What mysteries lie ahead, waiting to be solved?