Customer Reviews

Thutmose III: The Military Biography of Egypt's Greatest Warrior King

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

 

 

This book reads like a book that was cobbled together over a weekend because the author needed the money. Indeed, large chunks are cut and pasted nearly verbatim from Gabriel's other books. Worse, it is poorly executed and cries out for a proofreader. Silly errors make it difficult to have confidence in the information provided. For example: on page 54 where Gabriel writes, "[In Egypt] Except for a few places in the Nile Delta, there are no wide-open plains upon which to maneuver [chariots] *as there were in Canaan* and Syria. Yet on page 74 *"Canaan offered few smooth plains* where, the opportunities for wide-ranging maneuver and speed provided dividends." Which was it? On page 92 Thutmose captured 924 enemy chariots but on the very next page only 892 were captured. After praising the Egyptian six-spoked chariot wheel on page 59 we discover on page 75 that "The Canaanite chariot was heavier than the Egyptian vehicle *because* of its four- or six-spoked wheels." How is that exactly? These kinds of errors leave the reader wondering about the accuracy of the rest of the material. [* emphasis added]

It also fails because of unnecessary hyperbole used to build Thutmose III up and justify writing the book. Gabriel takes pains to regularly mention Thutmose's brilliance, but the most excessive hyperbole occurs early in the book. In comparing Thutmose favorably to Alexander the Great Gabriel writes; "If the greatness of a field commander is judged by the ability of the enemy he faces . . . then compared to Alexander, Thutmose must rank as the greater field commander." That is nonsense as judged by Gabriel's own criteria. The evidence provided in his book describes Thutmose's "battles" as skirmishes against inferior opposition. Certainly Thutmose was an admirable military leader but, as Gabriel's own book shows, he was no Alexander. Indeed, one significant question that goes unexamined is why there was so little serious resistance to Thutmose's raids.

Finally, some of the sentences and even paragraphs just don't make sense. The text is sometimes repetitious and appears poorly organized. Occasionally, the pictures don't reflect the equipment Gabriel describes. All of these things reflect the little effort put into the book. Save your money and don't reward Gabriel for foisting "Thutmose III" on an unsuspecting public.

I began reading this book after I had mentioned to a friend that I was working on some military aspects on the campaigns about Thutmose III and the Egyptian military in general. They lent this book to me and I cannot simply believe that this was ever published.

There are scores of factual errors - practically one on every page. I will point form some highlights (or rather, lowlights):

-Gabriel claims that although Thutmose III did not introduce the khepesh sword, he was the one to introduce it on a large scale to the Egyptian military (page 4). There is no evidence of this taking place and I haven't found anything the inscriptions to say otherwise. There are only 6-9 examples in the world and the artistic evidence doesn't support this either.

-Gabriel claims that the Walls of the Prince were constructed as a series of fortresses along the isthmus of Suez (29). Not really and there's no concrete evidence for such. He goes on (30) to say that it was to protect against "hit and run" raids by Canaanites. This is completely false - the logistical matters in the Sinai would have prevented any sort of sortie into this area not to mention that there's no archaeological evidence for it.

-Gabriel claims that chariots acted like a screen for infantrymen. The chariots would cover the advance while firing arrows. When infantry clashed then archers would retire to the flanks or back through the infantry ranks. He sees chariots as attacking any exposed point, with the option for dismounting and fighting as infantry (64). There's no evidence for how ancient armies at this time fought - it's completely speculation.

I could add a lot more to this list but I think you get the point by now. This book has all the hallmarks of an amateur; in research and execution. I feel sorry for those who do not look further into this fascinating topic. If you want something worth while, see D. Redford's book on Thutmose III (expensive but its worth it).

In short, do not buy this book as it only will leave you with a misinformed view of the Battle of Megiddo and the subsequent campaigns.

I bought the book as a teacher who wanted to deepen my knowledge of Thutmose III's reign, but within the first chapter I found myself questioning some very basic knowledge, especially as it related to Hatshepsut. Firstly,suggesting that Hatshepsut was 'the mother of Thutmose II' p.5. No she wasn't!(correct lineage of Thutmosids however IS given on p.10); 'her great mortuary temple in the Valley of the Kings' p.16 No it isn't!(my high school students would point that out). I also have my doubts about several of the innovations attributed to Thutmose III, such as the fly of valour p21. So while it is very well footnoted, I recommend readers would be better off reading the cited works of Egyptologists, such as O'Connor,Redford or KMT's Dennis Forbes. Makes me disinclined to read the rest of it!!!! Shame, as Gabriel has a very readable style, but the text needs careful editing for basic accuracy.

An intereting book. It looks at Thutmose III, a pharoah of the XVIIIth Dynasty who is often referred to as Egypt's Napoleon. Thutmose served from a young age as the chief of the Egyptian Army under a co-regency scheme and later became king of Egypt in his right and determined to secure his borders. This involved military activity on the Nubian border to the south and a series of campaigns in Asia, against chieftains in Canaan and securing breathing space against the Mitanni and other powers in the near east.

The author discusses the military technology used at the time, including chariots (I had no idea how sophisticated the material technology was that went into those machines) and the politics and tactics of the times. Although kind of long-winded at times, it is clear that the author has studied this period pretty thoroughly. A very good assessment, I only wish the maps were as good as the illustrations provided for the book and that there were more of both.

Fascinating historical report. Reads like an action adventure yet includes known history, politics, reasons for actions taken, and military strategy and tactics of that period. Highly recommended.
Fred

I enjoyed this book very much. I have been interested in a book on this Pharaoh for a while. The New Kingdom is my favorite part of Egyptian History. The author does a very good job at telling this story on Thutmose. It kept me interested from beginning to end. Sometimes Thutmose is compared to Napoleon but this is incorrect. Thutmose was a winner and was the true founder of the Egyptian Empire as the author states. This empire would outlast Thutmose by a long time while Napoleon was a loser. Information on this time is scarce as compared to Roman Times. The author does a excellent job of presenting these facts in a orderly way. I would of like more information on Egypt of Thutmose's time than the author gave. That's why I only gave this book 4 stars instead of five. Maybe this is because the book is a military bio only.

If your interest is in Egyptian history this book is a must. Thutmose III was the premier, much greater than Rameses II, Egyptian king. A must read for military historians--you can't judge Caesar, Napoleon or Alexander until you compare Thutmose III.

The author has produced another fine work detailing the exploits of Thutmose III ,pharoh of Egypt.Here we learn how Thutmose was the one who was primarily responsible for turning Egypt from a sophisticated but isolated civilization to a first rate imperial power with a sphere of influence in the middle east and Africa.The author gives a background of the situation in the area around that time including details of the Hyskos' invasion of Egypt and its affects on the Egyptians.We also learn about the militaries of the various players in the region:the Egyptians,the cannaanite and syrian city-states and the Mitanni.Thutmose through a number of unspectacular but strategic victories seized a number of strategic towns that guarded key routes first in Canaan (Meggido),then in Interior Lebanon (near the Litani River) and then along the Coast of Lebanon and Syria before he embarked on a campaign against the Mitanni.These strategic victories had the purpose of extending Egypt's buffer zone and enhanced its national security by ensuring that any attempted invasion would be fought far away from Egypt's homeland.In the process of doing this ,Thutmose became the first commander in history to use amphibious landings to acheive surprise and speed.The lessons from this book are not only Thutmose's brilliance but that the concept of a sphere of influence is a very old one and is as much about great states seeking to protect themselves by having friendly states on their borders as much as it is about imperialism (as witnessed by the British attempt to seek a buffer around India to protect it from the Russians ,the ameican Monroe doctrine and the current Russian attempt for a "sphere of priviliged interest").The author illustrates these points in his unorthodox,questioning style that is both interesting and intriguing.That said there are flaws with this book, such as the errors and conradictions pointed out by other reviewers or the author's insistence that Thutmose was superior to Alexander in some regards.The author states that Persia was lead by a corrupt elite and was ready for the picking whilst Thutmose faced professional armies ,neglecting of course that ALexander accomplished the conquest of an empire that was superior to Macedonia in terms of wealth,size,demographics and in seapower (the last point could have worked decisively against Alexander) whereas Thutmose only managed to expand Egypt's sphere of influence over the Syrians,Canaanites and Nubians who were inferior to Egypt.He failed to destroy the Mitannis.He also foregets that Alexander fought 4 battles and 4 sieges that are considered tactical masterpieces and was also skilled in mountain warfare whereas he fails to record any such tactical masterpieces by Thutmose,indeed the most famous victory of Thutmose was at Meggido which although a strategic victory was only a minor skirmish followed by a blockade.He also says that the strategic vision for the coquest of Persia was invented by Phillip, Alexander's father,also neglecting that Thutmose's strategy was also invented by his grandfather Thutmose I.The only area in which Thutmose was superior to Alexander is the amphibious operations.Nevertheless,in spite of these flaws ,I recommend this book.

Overall I would rate it as very readable and worthwhile, however there are some caveats.
*It appears that there was little or no technical editing done prior to publication and there are many factual errors (the good news is that they are not critical to the main topic).
*There is a lot of speculation (this is fine, but it should have been identified as such, rather than implying that it is fact).
*There are a few internal contradictions between text and illustrations, and between text and text (better editing would have caught this).
On the plus side:
*It is very well researched and includes an extensive bibliography for anyone who wants to delve further into the subject. (disclosure - An article I wrote for Kmt magazine in 1997 is included as one of these references).
*It is an easy and enjoyable read and should give the layman a good understanding of Thutmose III and his world.
*It is one of the very few, non-technical books in English on Egypt's greatest king, and is worthwhile for this if nothing else (but it definitely needs to be a starting point for your own research and not an end point).
Overall I rate it 3 1/2 of 5 stars. Definitely read it, but don't take it as infallible.

I didn't read this, I bought it for my husband. He enjoyed it very much. He was not too familiar with Tuthmose III but I've been introducing him to Egyptology. He said the book made him understand how the military worked, his campaigns, and family. He also said it was very easy to read.