Tutankhamun: The Untold Story (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Former Metropolitan Museum of Art director Hoving recounts Howard Carter's search for Tut's tomb, and the international confrontations that followed, as Carter kept other archeologists away from his find, Carter's partner died shortly after the discovery

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press (May 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815411863
• ISBN-13: 978-0815411864
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #503,578 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT A FIND!!!!!!, September 3, 1999

By	MARK J GARCIA (Fairfield, North San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tutankhamun: The Untold Story (Hardcover)

I came across this book in a used book store a decided to read it. I had some interest in the story behind the discovery of King Tut and this book was full of information. It traces the beginnings of Howard Carter's search, the discovery,and the events that followed. I had no idea of the problems that Carter was faced with after the discovery. Perhaps there is some truth to the legend of "Tut's Curse" after all. I suggest that the book be read if you have any interest at all in the history surrounding one of the biggest archeological finds ever.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the company of the pharoah, November 27, 2005

By	Mary E. Sibley (Carneys Point, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Tutankhamun: The Untold Story (Hardcover)

The tomb was discovered in 1922 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Tutankhamun was a shadowy pharoah, a boy-king. He died around 1350 B.C. The discoverers were Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. They became celebrities. It was a phenomenal discovery. They had been very persistent. The treasures found have fascinated the public.

Starting in 1975 the author, Thomas Hoving, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, immersed himself in the story of the Tutankhamun's tomb's discovery. Hoving became suspicious of Carter's account of the noble discovery. Thutmose I had the brilliant idea to set his burial place in the Valley of the Kings since other tombs, pyramids, had been plundered. The pattern was set and it became the burial place for five hundred years.

Carter kept careful track of archeological discoveries. Jacob Rogers, heading a locomotive factory in Paterson, New Jersey, funded archeology projects for the Metropolitan Museum because he made a donation for acquisitions. Herbert Winlock, a friend of Carter, worked for the Museum. Carter was precise, calculating, gifted. He examined circumstantial evidence of an undiscovered tomb. Mountains of rubbish encumbered the search. Carter wanted to go right down to bedrock in a triangular plot of land containing the tombs of Ramesses II, Merenptah, and Ramasses VI. Carter devised a grid system. By 1921 Lord Carnarvon was beginning to lose interest. Most people believed the valley was exhausted as a place to make finds.

In the sixth season, 1922, supposedly Lord Carnarvon's last, the step to the walkway of a tomb was found. At the end of twelve steps there were hieroglyphs and seals. Carter telegraphed Lord Carnarvon of the finding. An antechamber glimpsed 11/26/22 contained magnificent objects. Later a horde of reporters and tourists descended on Luxor. Carter saw that years of work would be required to sort and sift the treasures.

The LONDON TIMES was granted exclusive coverage of the find and political problems with nationalist elements in Egypt resulted. A new door constructed by Carter became a symbol of malevolent foreign supremacy. Carnarvon died in 1923. Arthur Conan Doyle announced to the world a pharoah's curse. There were instances of near hysteria. A rail line was constructed to carry the objects to the River Nile for transport to the Museum in Cairo. When the intact sarcophagus was found, everyone was agog with interest. After a hiatus, Carter worked from 1925 for eight years extracting the objects.

Pictures appear in this splendid work, too, in addition to a table of sources and an index.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars exceptional, December 25, 2005

By	ct reader "logos.hfd" (ct) - See all my reviews

This remains one of the best adventure stories written in the last twenty five years. Hoving skillfully recounts Carter and Carnarvon's epic quest for Tutankhamun in a vivid tale of mystery, suspense, discovery, and treasure. True history can indeed be better than fiction.