"In The Buried City, the director of the archaeological park brings a more humane and soulful version of the site to life. . . . One of the most interesting components of Zuchtriegel’s writing is that it grants us a peek behind the curtain of the internal politics of running one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. . . . Refreshingly, Zuchtriegel focuses on the everyday lives of both the archaeologists and staff working at the site today and those who died there in the eruption of 79 CE through accessible language. He brings readers into topics of contemporary academic debates, such as the size of the city’s population, and translates inscriptions and unearthed tablets."
 

Sarah E. Bond | Hyperallergic

"Tales of significant discoveries, like that of the so-called slave room, form only one skein of Mr. Zuchtriegel’s braid. He also weaves in accounts of his own education and early career—a portrait of the archaeologist as a young man. He speaks candidly of 'the urge to rebel' that led him to challenge scholarly orthodoxies such as prevailing interpretations of Hermaphroditus, a mythological figure combining features of male and female anatomy. He extols several mentors who fostered his “revolt against the establishment” of classical archaeology, and laments the solipsism of his other colleagues. The self-congratulatory tone might be grating if it did not come from a genuine wunderkind."

Wall Street Journal

"[In] this enthralling and handsomely produced account by the director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, we learn who lived there, how they went about their days and nights, and about their final hours. A third of the site remains unexcavated, so there is still much to learn beyond the ruins that have already given us unmade beds, dishes left drying, and bodies encased in ash. The reader can ask for no better guide to the emotional pull of Pompeii than this author."

Air Mail

"The Buried City is about more than just the city that died in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted and engulfed streets and temples and houses in ash punctuated by shock waves of intense heat; it’s also about the disciplines of archeology and reconstruction that are slowly, painstakingly unearthing the preserved remains. Zuchtriegel as a narrator is present on almost every page in the first person, which separates his book from the small library of titles dedicated to Pompeii. . . . Thanks to Zuchtriegel’s storytelling energy, the most famous dead city in the world feels alive and teeming with activity."

Steve Donoghue | Open Letters Review

"The Buried City is no conventional history of Pompeii—though Zuchtriegel covers the basics for the uninitiated. Rather, it is a justification for the kind of work carried out at the site and an opportunity to pose modern questions against a classical context . . . In Bulloch's excellent translation, the part-history, part-memoir is spirited and genial, evoking the everyday life of a city that has miraculously stood the test of time."

Financial Times (on the UK edition)

“A brilliant book! A learned guide to life in Pompeii both in the Roman past and the twenty-first century, deftly weaving the ancient with the modern, the personal with the historical. The end result is a fascinating, affable, and constantly illuminating exploration of Pompeii as an idea and as an archaeological site but also as a home for thousands of Roman people from all walks of life.”

Emma Southon, author of "A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"

"This is not just the best book on Pompeii I’ve ever read—it’s the best book on the glorious realities of archaeology itself. Zuchtriegel will surely inspire a whole new generation in the field with his blend of knowledge, experience and boundless passion. For this reader . . . well, it has left me panting to revisit Pompeii with the new, excited eyes that this magnificent book has given me.”

Stephen Fry, actor, producer, and author of "Troy"

“Zuchtriegel has brought us an experimental, personal, moving, engaging account of Pompeii. He courageously shows that archaeology is not a dry science, but rather one driven by the personal experience and passions of the archeologist. This book reveals the excitement of new excavations at Pompeii while serving as a deeply personal testament to Zuchtriegel’s background and upbringing, his love of music, his path to becoming an archaeologist.”

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, author of "Herculaneum: Past and Future"

“The Buried City tells the story of Zuchtriegel’s memorable personal journey to taking charge at Pompeii, along the way revealing how he’s righting the wrongs of his predecessors and presiding over the new and remarkable discoveries at this greatest of archaeological sites.”

Guy de la Bédoyère, author of "Populus"

“A thoughtful, revelatory and above all deeply human account of life—and death—by the director of the most awe-inspiring archaeological site on the planet. Zuchtriegel describes the realities of his profession with such honesty and verve.” 

Daisy Dunn, author of "In the Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny"

“Zuchtriegel makes the familiar magical. He challenges us to transform our relationship with the past, and shows us a new, far more satisfying, way to think about Pompeii and its people.”

Dan Snow, historian and television presenter

“Fantastic! Hugely informative, clever, thoughtful and playful (like all my favorite archeologists).”

Natalie Haynes, author of "Divine Might" and "Pandora’s Jar"