Radner’s edited volume “takes its departure from a single claim: long distance communication plays a key role in the cohesion and stability of early states, and in turn, these states invest in long-term communication strategies and networks” (p. 1). The merit of the book lies in its wide geographical and temporal scope (Amarna Egypt to Late Imperial Rome), the expertise of the scholars participating in the project, and the inner cohesion, which one rarely encounters in edited volumes. In addition, very little background knowledge is taken for granted, thus facilitating use for scholars from different disciplines and for students.