Customer Reviews

The Keys of Egypt: The Race to Crack the Hieroglyph Code

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My strong facination with the subject of ancient Egypt led me to pick up this book. The decipherment of heiroglyphics is something most people find facinating...Having been to Egypt over 10 years ago, I was captivated by these symbols and always wondered how it was humanly possible to decipher them. Upon reading the summary of the book, I instantly knew the plot was one filled with adventure, intrigue and above all; knowledge.

What I found most appealing about the book, was the main character the authors focused on; Mr. Champillion. I found his persona absolutely amazing...not only was he a born genius in linguistics (having mastered numerous languages at a very young age), but he was "driven" to say the least, in conquering this elusive ancient langauge which he believed would unlock history's secrets and reveal mysteries that until then, were very unknown to men...

As one reads the book, you can't help but feel sorry for Mr. Champillion...at times, it seems he is never going to succeed due to the overwhelming odds he had to conquer in his lifetime. He faced down life-long poverty, numerous political regimes who were against him, not to mention the countless critics who tried to downplay his achievements. On top of that, he suffered from ill-health from day one and was often wracked with pain on an ongoing basis. However, whatever the difficulties, he was able to conquer them and succeed in bestowing one of the greatest gifts ever given to the world at that time and in the present.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the author's use of historic content, particulary that of which was associated with Napolean and his drive to conquer Egypt and it's secrets. It's was from Napolean's conquest of Egypt and subsequent ejection from the country by the British, that the world became "infactuated" with anything Egypt...thanks to Napolean and the artifacts he brought back from Egypt, people like Mr. Champillion were able to take a simple facination with Egypt and turn it into something truly academic.

Anyone interested in the subject of Egypt, linguistics or history in general, will really take a liking to this book. I know I did!

It is not only as a biography of Champollion this book deserves high marks. It is a a riveting intellectual detective story, bringing vividly to life one of the milestones of scientific achievement, and afascinating tale of Europe's fascination with ancient Egypt in the years following Napolean's excursions there. Highly readable, and dramatically entertaining, the authors have made a very specialized subject into a fascinating story of discovery.

Also recommended in Egyptian History: The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw

This is wonderfully informative and entertaining book. While being a very good biography of Mr. Champollion, it also brings vividly to life a whole era of French history from around 1800 and 40 years on. While Champollion is well known in France, he is perhaps less so in English-speaking countries, and this book aids in rectifying this situation. Some other striking issues in the book is 19th Century whole sale looting of Egypt for relics, something that is entirely horrific to modern people. I wonder how it would feel to be the first modern person able to read inscriptions representing 3000 years of ancient history...!?

A great book. It presents the major historical facts, surrounding the decipherment of the hieroglyphs in a very active and interesting way.

Reading it, you have a very good grasp of the story of Champolion, the way people were living during that time, and the key personalities involved. I think the authors provided enough details for a lay person to understand a minimum about hieroglyphs so that we can understand the problem of deciphering them.

True, you will not know how to read hieroglyphs by reading this book, but then this would be the objective of a quite different book.

The story told on the book allow us to understand some key facts about the history of Egypt, the hieroglyphs and our recent history.

Great book!!!

The reviewer below has really summed up this book well, but it's worth reinforcing those views. This book is full of color, action, excitement, sadness, and lots of information about Egypt, hieroglyphs, 19th-century France, and rivalry in England. Well recommended.

As the authors explain in the appendix dedicated to further reading, there was no biography dedicated to Champollion in the English language at the time of their writing. This book fills the gap, at least for the amateur.

The text is detailed and very well written. It dispells common mistakes and misunderstandings about the discovery, such as the too often repeated myth that the Rossetta Stone was the main text used by Champollion. It also deals with the necessary historical background, including Napoleon expedition to Egypt, in an appropriate way.

The reviewer before me takes ombrage at the fact that the book focuses on Champollion instead of Young. Paradoxically, such emphasis is precisely one of the central ideas of the book. Young and other scholars were nowhere close to figure that the Egyptian language could be at the same time phonetic and ideographic. Their systems of cracking the language were at best poor and at worst totally fictional. We owe the discovery of the meaning of hieroglyphs to the genious of Champollion. Moreover, such achievement took place despite his having to endure poverty and difficulties of all kinds, including the pettiness and jealousy of Young and others.

Highly recommended.

The Adkins duo (as they are lovingly called by reviewers and editors alike) provides the readers with a vivid account of life and work of Jean-Francois Champollion. The story is set against a fascinating background of French political and military life in the first half of the 19th century, starting with a detailed description of Napoleon's failed Egyptian expedition. The intrigues and traps of academic life of the time are displayed with knowledge and gusto. The rivalry between Champollion and his main colleague and adversary in the business of deciphering, Thomas Young, is given ample space which it deserves. Being absolutely accessible even for a complete beginner in any things egyptological as myself, the book nevertheless does not patronize the reader or oversimplify any complexities of the story. As a biography of one of the foremost philologists of all times, it is excellent. My personal disappointment was that I wanted to know more technical details about the actual deciphering process. This, however, is in itself an enthralling story, which deserves a separate book (and if anyone can recommend one, I'd be much obliged).

Very readable, academically sound (imho) and beautifully written.

Despite its somewhat pedestrian writing, this is a good overview of the story of the decipherement of Egyptian hieroglyphs. The first chapter deals with the invasion of Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799 (which brought to the West for the first time in centuries many inscriptions and monuments from Egypt's classical period). The remaining chapters deal mainly with the biography of Jean-François Champollion, his difficult upbringing, his early interest in semitic languages, his crucial role in the decipherement of the hieroglyphs, the controversies with other scholars like Thomas Young, his bouts with sickness, his late trip to Egypt, his early death. Though the book is aimed at a popular audience, I wished more technical detail would have been provided on his achievements. As it is, they remain somewhat sketchy (we have read the cartouche story many times, but it surely involved more than comparing pharaoh's names). Overall, a good (not great) book on an interesting subject.

I read this book in one long sitting which speaks to how fluid the writing and how absorbing the material is. Amazing to think that a poor French boy who hated math managed to excel in Latin, Greek, Aramaic and several other ancient languages before his 13th birthday. The opening chapters on the savants in Egypt during Napoleon's occupation there were as fascinating as Champllion's life and his dedication to figuring out hieroglypics. I cannot but be amazed at the political infighting and backstabbing that took place -- I guess the times haven't changed much since then. As another reviewer points out, my only small criticism is that I wanted to know more about the mechanics of Champollion's method in solving the riddle -- the authors allude to it many times without being specific enough to help the novice figure out what exactly his breakthrough was. Nonetheless, an excellent read about the time period, Champollion himself and his brother who helped him every step of the way.

The authors have a rather outdated concept of writing system in general. Instead of using the more or less standard term "logogram", they keep using the terms "pictogram" and "ideogram", which have been rejected for long in any serious linguistic discussions. As a result, I suppose their explanation of how the hieroglyphic system works is confusing for those new to it. Sloppy linguistics aside, the book is an excellent, and so far the only one in English, account of Champollion's life. I find the extracts from Champollion's letters particularly illuminating. The maps, diagrams and photos are also very thoughtful.