Temple of Karnak: The Majestic Architecture of Ancient Kemet [Paperback]

Frederick Monderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2007

The Majestic Architecture of Ancient Kemet surveys the religious, philosophical and esoteric nature and the history of the architectural evolution of the temple. It emphasizes the important features of the structure, particularly those of interest to the visitor whose time is limited. It is also of interest to the student and specialist, for it includes commentary by a great many visitors to this divinely inspired national temple that has had a lasting impression on all, as it beckons their return. The book contains an extensive bibliography, both in a general format and for specific segments of the temple, making it a tremendous research asset. This work is unique in that it’s the only English language book (Save one other of a different approach and in Hardcover.) on a temple that took 2000 years to build, and today considered an architectural museum of ancient Egyptian art and architecture. The Table of Contents reads: Description of Captions; Poem to Amon-Ra; Poem to Karnak Temple: Introduction: The Majestic Architecture of Karnak: Karnak: The Power: Karnak: The Glory; The Middle Kingdom Court: Thutmose III Festival Hall; The Sacred Lake; The North South Axis; References; Conclusions; Select Bibliography; Temples of Karnak; A Second Look. More than 130 photographs, illustrations and plans help to accentuate the majesty and grandeur of imperial Egypt, celebrating a deity whose influence spread far and wide and whose generosity to his adherents brought success, fortune and fame to their quest. Thus, the temple is a “pay back.” Generally, the book is an asset to all.

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (September 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 142596642X
• ISBN-13: 978-1425966423
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,032,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A conglomeration of other books exerpts, March 9, 2008

By 

K. Sloper "Egyptophile" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Temple of Karnak: The Majestic Architecture of Ancient Kemet (Paperback)

This book is a disappointment! It is almost entirely exerpts taken from other books. When the author does seem to write his own copy, its confusing and has poorly formulated diction and punctuation. Take page16 - 4th paragraph: "Splended dwelling, your second colonade abuts Thutmose III's sixth or first pylon enclosing the Hall of Records lising his 17 campaigns" (what??) or (same page 3rd paragraph) "Lord of Praises, the modern third, ancient fourth, pylon of Amenhotep III, the "magnificent", Enclose the central court" (punctuation and capitalized words verbatim).
In various areas Horemheb is spelled as: Horemhab, Haremhab.

All pictures are disappointingly in black and white and many are not current photos, as they appear today (and this was published in 2007!) Many of the diagrams are photos of pages taken from other books with the opposite page bleeding thru, which makes it confusing to decipher. Some of the diagrams have been reduced so its difficult to read the fine print, and many of the pictures are too dark, too poorly contrasted or too blurry to be of any real use. This would NOT make an "indispensible travel guide" due to the fact the pictures and diagrams are so poorly represented.

For Egyptophyles, this is redundant information. No new ground broken here. I would have liked to see more of the authors work, not just a book filled with quotations from other books.
This book would be ok for someone who doesnt know anything about Karnak or Egypt and wants a book to read.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Temple of Karnak as English Language Reference, April 14, 2009

By 

Senmut "FredsEgypt" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Temple of Karnak: The Majestic Architecture of Ancient Kemet (Paperback)

On closer examination of the book, I find the errors described in K. Sloper's Review of "Temple of Karnak: The Majestic Architecture of Ancient Kemet," to be inaccurate! If these errors he points to on p. 16 actually existed in a previous printing of this book, such certainly does not exist in the copy I now possess. Frankly, this is a useful book for the traveler and student and any inaccuracies within are greatly counterbalanced by the extensive and comprehensive examination of the principal features the author helps to capture.

When the "Temple of Karnak" was discussed in the Temple of Karnak, Egypt, the guide quickly pointed out, "Much more information and knowledge is contained in the `Poem to Amon-Ra,' than in many similar books on the market." Coupled with `Poem to the Temple of Karnak,' the fundamental layout of the architecture is detailed in a wonderful manner any visitor could find informative. Together, these two poems bring to modernity much of the philosophical and esoteric views that characterized the ancient Egyptian mentality, belief system and ritual practice, from Middle and New Kingdom onwards. Extensive examination of the principal architectural features coupled with accompanying "older plans and illustrations," paint a comprehensive description of this majestic structure any visitor will find useful. The 125 photographs in black and white reinforce the views portrayed in the artistic decoration and literary details. The author's use of ancient orientation in conjunction with modern description of the temple's geography is novel and philosophically enlightening. Besides a "Concluding Perspective," the author supplies "A Second Look" with description and accompanying bibliography, which reinforces the general frame of reference he seeks to achieve. The extensive English bibliography is to facilitate research to more correctly portray the temple for future appreciation.