Customer Reviews

Thutmose III: A New Biography

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Several months ago I purchased a copy of Thutmose III, A New Biography, Eric H. Cline & David O'Connor, Editors. I was somewhat concerned, given the price of the book, that it would be a rehash of earlier information about Thutmose III. I took the plunge anyway because Thutmose III, in particular, and the New Kingdom, in general, are two of my favorite research topics. Once I started the read, it was not long before I realized that this book is probably the definitive study on Thutmose III.

The symbolic and structural analysis of his tomb in Chapter 6 or the bibliography alone clearly justifies the investment in this book. I will order a second copy because when I reread it I am going to highlight and annotate the copy I have. The second copy will be acquired for archival purposes.

For anyone seriously interested in Thutmose III, Hatshepsut or the New Kingdom, the chapters authored by the twelve academic contributors provide the best single source I know to gain an understanding of the life and significance of this remarkable Pharaoh known as Thutmose III. The editors and contributors should be applauded for taking the time to write and make this biography available to the public.

Egyptological books are getting frightfully expensive and I'm not sure this "new biography" of Thutmose III is worth the investment. Fortunately, I was able to get my copy via interlibrary loan. This work [a compilation of essays by various experts, complete with copious footnotes]is too dry for most ancient Egypt enthusiasts and the data is already known to the savants. So just for whom is this book? I, myself, couldn't find a scrap of new information in it and not even a single sensible theory [or any theory, come to that], unless I really missed something. Sometimes footnotes are the most informative bits in such works, but here even the footnotes were bland and unenlightening. Usually, a book like this should be a "keeper", a reference for future use and nobody with any real scholarly interest would re-sell it used. Few persons have more interest in the 18th Dynasty than I do but, having read this biography, I wouldn't pay the price to have it in my own shelves.