The University of Babylon

Sheldon Michaels, HR Director at the University of Babylon, has seen and heard it all. This year the Vice Chancellor believes that someone is trying to kill him—and between the five dysfunctional Deans and a former Deputy Vice Chancellor, there is no shortage of motive.

In his cynically dry and humorous account of eleven months in a metropolitan university, Sheldon encounters everything from an inspection by UK Border Control to many more personal and inappropriate incidents. Strange events multiply: an unexplained visitor to the chaplain’s flat, protests that escalate unexpectedly, and hidden secrets that no one seems willing—or able—to explain.

Set against a backdrop of mind-bending bureaucracy and compliance, where efficiency is a myth, meetings are endless and decisions never final, Sheldon uncovers a story of paranoia, betrayal and vengeance.

Inspired by the authors’ experience in several UK universities, The University of Babylon portrays an institution meticulously structured, permanently undecided, and only partly connected to reality.