Pioneer to the Past: The Story of James Henry Breasted, Archaeologist, Told by His Son Charles Breasted

Pioneer to the Past tells the intensely human, often poignantly moving story of the brilliant career of James Henry Breasted, one of the greatest Egyptologists and archaeologists America has yet produced. Breasted's greatest achievement was the founding of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago in 1919, through the generous support of John D. Rockefeller Jr. The Oriental Institute embodies Breasted's vision of an interdisciplinary research center that unites archaeology, textual studies, and art history as three complementary methodologies to provide a holistic understanding of ancient Near Eastern civilizations, and the ways that they laid the foundations for what we think of today as "Western civilization." Breasted's legacy continues to flourish today.