Book excerpt: This collection of essays honors the life and work of Gary Beckman, Professor of Hittite and Mesopotamian Studies at the University of Michigan. The essays were contributed by his colleagues, students, and friends, and their breadth-traversing ancient Anatolia, Syria, Mesopotamia, and beyond-are a measure of the range of his influence as a scholar. His interest in the reception and adaptation of Syro-Mesopotamian culture by the Hittites in particular inspired this offering.