Customer Reviews

Secrets From The Sand: My Search For Egypt's Past

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Zahi Hawass has spent thirty years in Egypt working to understand ancient Egypt. This book is a semi-autobiographical in that the first part of the book covers his early days working to protect Egypt's past. It then goes on as though giving us a personally conducted tour of some of the most important excavation sites in Egypt. It is absolutely filled with information that would never have occurrec to the casual observer. For instance, the average tourist leaves about an ounce of moisture from breath and sweat in the interior chambers of the Giza pyramids. The aftereffects of this cause a deteriation of the chamber.

The book is profusely illustrated, with 251 of the 262 photographs printed in color.

To begin with I am not sure what I expected of this book. I knew it was not going to be a scholarly text, and it is not. What it is is a very entertaining book based on the excavations by Zahil Hawass over the last thirty plus years working in Egypt. I found the text to be written for a reader with a more than casual interest in ancient Egypt. It is written in excellent form, with crisp text and is well laid out so that the text and accompanying photographs appear together on the same pages. This is a personal account of Dr Hawass excavations and must be taken as such. When there is a point of personal note regarding people, events and details, and how it effected him, they are included and because of such I found it interesting and entertaining.
The photos in this book are excellent, many of which have never been published and mainly in color. The book deals not only with excavations that Dr Hawass has done in the past, but also his plans for site control in the future in order to protect Egypt's monuments.
But the thing I found most interesting was his personal journey. That Dr Hawass never intended to become and Egyptologist when his career began but a lawyer struck me as ironic how people can by chance find their life's work and passion quite by accident.
I have red Zahil Hawass other books including "Valley of the Golden Mummies' and enjoyed them very much. But the personal account and details along with excellent photographs and well written text allowed me to see inside a career of one of Egypt's and the worlds most prominent archaeologists.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in ancient history.

This is Dr. Hawass' autobiography. A very fun read, lots of great stories, not at all dry. Dr. Hawass is alot of fun, and a real character. He is also the right man in the right place at the right time, as protector and custodian of Egypt's legacy. I was privileged to enter the Sphinx enclosure at Giza with Dr. Hawass in January 2004 and got to see firsthand some of the changes he has put in place at many sites. I was delighted to read more of his plans in this book, which made me feel much better about the future of archaeology in Egypt. It was also fun to hear about how and when he acquired his passion for Egyptology, his first meeting with his colleague Dr. Mark Lehner, and the job perk of "the best balcony in the world."
This book is also full of many wonderful photos, many of which have not been published before; which helped me make more sense of the many sites we visited. I have several of Dr. Hawass' books, but this is my favorite!

Dr. Hawass's book, "Secrets From the Sand" is a delight in many ways. Having been in Egypt and having seen many of the sites he has described, I thoroughly enjoyed re-living some of my time there. However, I must take exception to his belittling remarks of other people with whom he disagrees. I am referring to the remarks about Edgar Cayce, founder of the A.R.E. in Virginia Beach. One certainly has the right to disagree with another's phylosophy, but it would be courteous, to say the least, to get the facts right. Mr. Cayce was not a "poor carpenter", he was a photographer. He did not cure his son
s eyes, when a flash powder went off and blinded the boy, by some hocus-pocus magic, but with a sensible medical treatment.He mentions Hugh Lynn Cayce,Edgar's son, and calls him Hylan. In fact, the entire small section seemed to me to be an unsportsmanlike attempt to denigrate anyone who disagrees with him. Dr. Hawass has had enough recognition and enough honors in his field, richly deserved I may add, not to need to put in print his dislike of another's beliefs, however much it may disagree with his own. If this one section had been left out, I would have given the book the highest praise for its content, photographs, and manner of writing. As it is, I feel that it takes away from the character of the man whose work I have followed with great interest for many years, and who has done so much to bring his country's rich heritage to the attention of the world.

I have always found Zahi Hawass to be an excellent writer and easy, fun, and very entertaining. I had bought books here and there, but then had recently ordered all the ones I had missed. I was never let down and in fact my daughter and her friends borrow them to read often. That is the best praise, when people who had not previously had in interest in a subject find the author and content interesting enough to read not just one but many books, by said author, ours being Zahi Hawass.
I very much enjoyed his newest book and found it good indeed. So he get's our best review of 5 stars. I am a college education person and only add that because I'm a book extremist and take reading seriously. I still say, five stars.

Specialized subject matter like this are not the easiest things to find and often, when you do find them, they are overpriced. Hawass is the leading Egyptologist in the world and getting his book at a reasonable price is a find. My son, studying archaeology, has seen Hawass give talks and lectures and was thrilled to be able to read his work somewhere besides a library. Great find at a great price. Delivered promptly. No complaints whatsoever.

My husband was pleased with another of Zahi Hawass" books given to him for his 73rd birthday. The book iself looked brand new.

I absolutely love this book! I have been a Zahi Hawass fan for years, and I especially love all of the personal memories and events he has included in this book. It is easy to read and very hard to put down. It is such a shame that Dr. Hawass is not in charge of the antiquities in Egypt anymore. Read this book and you will know why he was and is the perfect man for the job. It is a story told with love, humor, and passion for a career in protecting Egypt's remarkable past.

I received this book in a timely manner. Boy...what a good book. Anyone interested in Dr. Hawass and his career will not be disappointed. I started reading this the minute it arrived at the house. He tells a very interesting story of his life leading up to where he is today. And lots of great pictures. I wish we could see more of Chassing Mummies on the History Channel. You will love this book!!

This is a important biography of a Egyptian who has developed the study of Egypt for the people of Egypt and the world.As a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Hawass has a wonderful academic background. He has directed a number of most importand digs of the early 21th century including the workmen's village at the the Pyramids and Golden Mummies. He has also worked to preserve the Giza area and published a number of earlier books on Egypt. This is a must read for informed student of Egypt. Also, are included are color photographs of his many famous sites.