The Book of the Dead: The Hieroglyphic Transcript of the Papyrus of Ani, the Translation into English and an Introduction (Paperback)

~ E. A. Wallis Budge (Author) "The Recensions of the great body of religious compositions, which were drawn up for the use of dead kings, nobles, priests, and others, and which..." (more)
Key Phrases: ascendeth into heaven, recite four times, seh chamber, Osiris Ani, Book of the Dead, Papyrus of Ani (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Belief in the immortality of the soul was fundamental to Egyptian religion. The book of the dead was intended to give the deceased immortality, to provide everything required in the other world, to procure friendship, to enable his soul to reach the kingdom of Osiris. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Citadel; Reissue edition (March 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806505915
• ISBN-13: 978-0806505916
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,556,725 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars At least the price is right..., November 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book of the Dead (Hardcover)

It's a given that serious egyptologists will roll their eyes at anything by Budge (there's a great moment at the beginning of the film "Stargate" where James Spader's character makes a quip about Budge's books).

However, if you are interested in 19th-century occultists (Blavatsky, Crowley, etc) then you probably should have this translation on your shelf next to a more modern one, because Budge is a primary source of their ideas about Egyptian gods and religion (which are interesting in their own right, though not historically accurate or scholarly). And again, at least Budge's stuff is widely and inexpensively available in Dover paperback editions....

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book of the Dead-Giovanni Callanta (Chicago), August 12, 2004

By	Giovanni Callanta (Chicago) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Book of the Dead (Hardcover)

Being an archaeologist, I know better than to claim that there is such a thing as a wrong or right inference. They are all just interpretations of available information that can be translated differently by another person (I believe this is why Budge included the original text--in order to give the reader a chance to make hs own inferences). The best way to judge an interpretation based on artifacts and proveniences is by the background and experience of the academic doing the translation. Being a celebrated Egyptologist for such a long period of time ought to count for something. I know I wouldn't disparage a fellow Archy based on the words of a fictional man from a movie that claimed pyramids were built by aliens.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good translation of ancient Egypt holy/burial texts, October 16, 1998

By	Wes Mininger ([e-mail]) "mining... (E. Lansing Michigan) - See all my reviews

If you are interested in ancient religions, this is an interesting book. Otherwise it should be left alone. This book requires plenty of time to understand what it is all about, along with lots of research so that one might understand the basics of Egyptian religion. This is not light reading.