Customer Reviews

Ancient Egypt: An illustrated reference to the myths, religions, pyramids and temples of the land of the pharaohs

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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I bought this book because i will be visiting Egypt in the fall.Since Egypt has a lot of history i decided to buy a book that would give me a good introduction to egyptian history.From the moment i picked up this book i was inmersed in it.The book has tons of ilustrations and is very well organized.The book talks about every single aspect of ancient egyptian history without boring you with every single detail.The book is a faboulous and complete intro which makes you read and read some more about Egypt and its history.It is my opinion that this is one of the best books on ancient Egypt out there.Just fantastic!!

This is one of those books that both looks good on a coffee table and has plenty of color plates to help your guests occupy some spare time. However, I am a fan of ancient Egypt and near-eastern archaeology as well, so I have also read the text, which I find to be very well written. Oakes and Gahlin have organized a fine book for someone who wants a big picture perspective on the history of the ancient Egyptians, covering everything from the Old Kingdom onward, and they even have some pretty good pre-dynastic material as well.

I find their chronologies and timelines with alternate names to be particularly useful. For instance, wihtout a listing of alternate names in a chronology, someone looking for a Pharaoh named Nebkheperure might not know to also search under King Tut.

BTW, this might also be a good time to mention that a very large collection of King Tut artifacts will be going on tour in the US this year. It's almost a once-in-a-lifetime event and nobody knows when it will happen next. The last time Tut went on tour was back in the late 70s.

(This review refers to the hardback copy.) Oakes' and Gahlin's "Ancient Egypt" seems at first glance to be a typical coffee-table book, given its great length (500pp), size, and weight. I liked the huge number of color illustrations on its large-format pages. At its inexpensive remainder price, this book is an outstanding bargain for the photographs alone.

The accompanying text, that is geared to beginners, is much better than one would expect from a typical coffee-table book of this sort. The first half of the book describes in short articles many of the familiar sites (pyramids and temples) and some of the less-familiar ones (Kharga, Abu Mena). It would make a good guidebook, except that the hardback is much too large and heavy for this purpose, and there are no site maps included.

The second half of the book introduces the ancient religion of Egypt, again in short articles at a level that is good for beginners. While sound and reliable, I thought that it was a bit repetitious and not quite as entertaining as the first half of the book. Be that as it may, it is likely that many readers who are "just starting out" or curious about Egypt will like to have this book.

A friend picked this book up and gave it to me for my trip to Egypt. Our tour guide saw it and really liked it, so we gave it to her. She liked it because it covered topics that normally are not included. We have the softcover, which is a little big for a guidebook, but doable. I REALLY like the organization. The topics are in a logical order, and each topic is 2 pages. The explanations are short enough that it didn't put me to sleep, and it has great pictures. The book was very helpful during our tour. I am buying another copy of it!

The photographs and illustrations in this book are WONDERFUL but the book's organization leaves something to be desired. It tries to lay things out by theme but with so much jumping around in the time line it's difficult to get a good understanding of how Egyptian culture developed and changed over time.

I have been reading this book to prepare for a trip to Egypt. Very interesting to read, easy to understand, and full of beautiful color pics. Incredibly comprehensive, too. Don't plan to bring this book with you though, it's heavy.

Actually, this book was given to me as a gift and during a recent move it was misplaced. I went to Amazon to see if I could purchase it to replace the one that was lost. I collect books and I wanted this book to stay as part of my collection. Definately a great book to own.

I really enjoyed this book. The photos are amazing. The topics cover a wide range of Egyptian history, including their religious practices, their burial rituals, their pharaohs, and their political structure. The information is not in-depth and does not cover Egyptian history in chronological order. Instead, Oaks divides the book into specific topics and offers just enough information to give the reader the feel of what Egyptian life was like

This book has excellent photos. It's a good read, decent price and a great book for anyone interested in Ancient Egypt. The only downside (if you can call it that) is the size and weight - not one to read on your lap in bed.

Egyptian Civilization:
No civilization, ancient, medieval or modern has continued to exist as coherent and sustained its civil identity as that of the ancient Egyptians. The human fascination with the world of ancient Egypt, in our modern times as did in the ancient world, is an attestation to the humankind's first moral and enduring culture, for three millennia, whose mysteries have the magical power of a vivid mythology that has always embraced eternity.
I share what Naguib Mahfouz, the Nobel laureate, recently stated that; "Aside from art and monotheism, we must not overlook the ethical framework of whose birth ancient Egypt was the first witness. ... Egyptian civilization was beyond any doubt a great culture that encompassed the entire ancient world. We may have come to know it once more through the mediation of Western explorers and scientists,... It is the heritage of all humanity."

An Illustrated Guide:
This articulately prepared, beautifully presented volume is a fascinating guide to the religious milieu that make up the allure of ancient Egypt, extended into the present day monotheistic traditions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam that were and still are embraced by the land whose civilization may has survived due mainly to its vision of social justice and traditional moral conscience. Readers will enjoy an overall view of this captivating culture through breathtaking, full-color photos, illustrations, detailed maps, and comprehensive chronologies, within a captivating account of a double page articles integrated into four main sections covering Burial places, Religious centers, State Religion, and Religious life and death, in popular and mythological religion and rites of Ancient Egypt.

Book's Guided Tour:
While the general outline of the two devoted Egyptologist ladies, Lorna Oakes and Lucia Gahlin, who by undertaking this (& other) worthy contribution to our human heritage are witness to the Ancient Egyptian distinction of their early realization that Women were dominant as Deity, Pharaohs and beloved Mothers. Their well searched text on Ancient Egypt in Context, supported by a vivid review of the rediscovery of this fascinating civilization, the land, its Chronology and Geography, a historical map and mesmerizing photo of King Tut opens its Sacred Sites into the Pyramids its most famous Burial Places. The story unfolds through the eyes of Egypt's Earliest travelers Herodotus and Starbo to the Roman emperor Hadrian. Europe's interest reawakened since Napoleon's Expedition, and Champillion deciphering of the Rosetta Stone parallel inscriptions in Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Demotic, and Greek. The authors review and analyze the race for antiques from Drovetti and Belzoni to modern museums from Turin to New York. Very interesting is the article on the founders of Egyptology and the French with reference to Maritte founder of the Egyptian Museum and Flinders Petrie.

Unique Treatment:
It is worth mentioning that by extending their Ancient historical review to presnt day religious Egypt, Oakes and Gahlin offer a unique comparative parallel study of the influece exerted on contemporary religions: Encaustic Portraits and Icons. The section on 'Monastries, Mosques, and Synagogues' starts with a Venetian Mosaic of St. Mark and the Light house of Alexandria, while monastic Egypt followed, Moslem and Jewish places are highlighted with fine stories and fables.