The World of the Pharaoh's, A Complete Guide to Ancient Egypt

Christine Hobson
Thames & Hudson
New York
ISBN: 0-500-27560-2
 1987

The author starts out strong in its introduction with an interesting overview of Pharaonic history, leading into the archaeologists who discovered the various epochs of Egypt's long reign of the Pharaohs. The lists of archaeologists and their contributions made the science of today, from men like Walter Emery to Amelia Edwards, as well as the stars of the field like Belzoni and Champollion.


Chapter three is a bright description of the history of royal tombs, focusing mainly on the successive known Kings who created the pyramids of the Old Kingdom. As addictive as the text is, the photos are of standard fare, though there are some gems like the relief from the tomb of Ankmahor.


The author has a pleasant voice with the simplicity of words that make tough subjects like the Pantheon of gods easy to understand, though I must say that there were several inaccuracies. Mentuhotep II was not the first king of the 12th Dynasty.


These inaccuracies did not outweigh my interest in the book, and the pictures became more interesting as the book went along. The last chapter was also written completely with a good introduction as to how to read hieroglyphs and the rescue of the Nubian monuments from the raising of the Aswan dam.


But still, there were more mistakes in the archaeology, and I wondered how many mistakes had gone over my head. It is hard to criticize a book I liked, but the facts go astray while the obvious talent of the author takes away only a little of the book's glimmer for me.


I am glad I read this book, I think!