Philip Halpern, MBA '78

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Philip Halpern, MBA '78, has published a coming-of-age story about King Hammurabi of Babylon, "Divine Enlightenment: The Making of a Mesopotamian King and His Legacy." The Code of Hammurabi — best known for the phrase "an eye for an eye" — stands as one of the most influential legal monuments of the ancient world. The historical novel explores how Hammurabi may have arrived at the principles of justice and kingship reflected in the famous stele.

After taking early retirement as chief investment officer of Caltech and then The University of Chicago, Halpern decided to become a docent giving tours to children and adults at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures. Fascinated by the galleries of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and the Levant, he decided to write the book.