Customer Reviews

The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Papyrus of Ani in the British Museum

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I hate to say a hard word about a volume so many (including myself) have found so intriguing. The Egyptian "Book of the Dead" - a collection of spells, prayers, hymns, and instructions for success in the afterlife - is a famous, and widely misunderstood document, well worth a first-hand examination. However, potential purchasers should be aware that this is a reproduction of a Victorian edition and translation, and that Budge, the editor and translator, was industrious, sincere, talented, and from time to time brilliant, but already a bit out of date in his approach to ancient Egyptian, even when the book appeared in 1895. This Dover reprint is a monument to obsolete scholarship.

The volume was intended as a companion to, or substitute for, an extremely beautiful facsimile edition of a papyrus copy, which Budge had obtained in Egypt, published in color by the British Museum. The passage of decades has only compounded the problems. Budge's transliteration is obsolete, and his polished translations run roughshod over Egyptian grammar (the interlinear versions being erroneous only over the meanings of specific words). His history of scholarship covers the early decades of Egyptology in more detail than most will find necessary, but of course misses that latter nineteenth century (as well as everything since).

Still, before the appearance of a recent, computer-assisted, facsimile edition, based on the British Museum facsimile, with modern translations (The University of Texas Press, as "The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead"), this was as close as most people would get to one of the major manuscripts of the New Kingdom's "guide to the next world". My first copy is filled with several decades of corrections and annotations, and I bought a second just to enjoy the beautiful hieroglyphic font in which the text is presented. I am not telling anyone not to buy it; just don't take it as the last word on anything.

There a few modern Egyptologists (and a few outright hacks) that are quick to point out Budge's many errors in translation without looking at the publication date on the book. Budge more than makes up for this, however, by including his transliterations along with the original hieroglyphic text -- so that any wannabe Egyptologist can try his hand at doing better. It is the complete Papyrus of Ani, which is the most complete text yet found. It would have rated 5 stars save for two things: Budge's organization of the book, which is difficult to understand at first without considerable effort, and the fact that it does not include ALL of the chapters. The latter could have been solved by supplementing the book with parts of the Pyramid or Coffin Texts, which Budge discusses extensively in his introduction. Nonetheless, this is the first book the serious scholar should pick up on the subject, especially if he is a student of ancient Egyptian language.

A good reference for the non-Egyptian reader who wants firsthand knowledge about life on the Nile. Budge's translation and use of the original text allow the Egyptologist to compare their own reading as well. Use of such a reference book will increase the reader's understanding of the rather complicated and in many ways foreign ideas in ancient Egyptian religion and rituals.

Mr. Budge's book is a wonderfull translation, and transliteration of this famous Ancient Egyptian document. With the heiroglyphics included in the transliteration, one is also able to study heiroglyphic translation as one reads the various chapters. Because the heiroglyphics are placed in the book as uniform graphics, the continuity of the pictures, helps the reader more efficiently follow the transliteration, thereby helping the reader deduce what symbols mean what, and thereby adding another facet to this wonderfull volume. The only drawback to this book, is the lack of photographs of the actual papyri. This problem is significant in some respects, but overall this volume is able to clearly define all of those items that the ancients felt were vital to get one (a deceased one) into the afterlife

Awesome book!! Lots of info regarding gods that are involved in the burrial/afterlife procedures. Really cool, definetly worth a read if you are interested in Egyptian history.

This book is loaded with knowledge. It has information on the different versions, and types of the book. This version, is quite unique, as even though it is translated, the orignial language, and hiro-glypics was left intact.I would highly recommend this book for anyone that is interested in egyptian ages, but I would not expect just anyone to understand the true nature and power of the book. The book is extremly deep, and a few people might have troubles understanding it, But if you have an open heart and mind, then the nature and power of this book, is limitless. Enjoy it guys! :)

It was very disappointing to know that this book has only one chapter with lots of blank spaces for notes. It's cheating to sell a chapter book at the rate of $10.85. This is irritating! Please watch out for this book buyers.

A pretty useless book since the text refers to 37 colour reproductions of the
Papyrus of Ani itself which are not included.

I found this book to be quite informative. I have always been curious what "The Book of the Dead" contained and this work provides me with a clear and concise interpretation of the book.

this has transliterated hieroglyphics all throughout. the only problem is that the same symbols are sometimes translated differently in different contexts. this makes it a little hard to learn how to read them, but i got this for the text (some of it thought to be 5000 yrs old), not the hieroglyphs, although they are an added bonus.