Six Books for Every Egyptian Collection

On this beautiful day here in Vancouver, I am reminded that winter has arrived, and that I have not put together in a while a collection of must have reads suitable as gifts for loved ones. These books included for the first time three exhibition catalogs of shows that contained extraordinary content never to be seen again.

1. The Search for Alexander; An Exhibition- From the age of small children people around the world are taught of the fame of Alexander the Great. Here we have a catalog of the early 1980's exhibition, containing objects from his time including many objects found within the intact burial of Alexander's father Philip II, King of Macedonia. The book contains beautiful pictures provided with clear explanations of artifacts built to dazzle the senses.

The Greek Ministry of Culture
New York Graphic Society of Books
1980
ISBN: 082121080

2. The Complete Valley of the Kings- In this book the reader is brought through the history of the tombs within the valley, their occupants and discovery. Author Nicholas Reeves recent theory about finding Nefertiti's burial behind frescoes painted on the walls in King Tutankhamen's tomb makes this the perfect timing for anyone interested to explore the sacred valley.

Nicholas Reeves & Richard H. Wilkinson
Thames & Hudson
1996
ISBN 978-0-500-28403-2

3. Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt-This book is the most challenging among the books presented, and best for a little older crowd. The author Robert A. Armour lays before the reader a complex extraction of components that make up ancient Egyptian Paganism. Within these pages a greater sense of the individual character of gods, goddesses and the divine family is remarkably constructed.

Robert A. Armour
The American University in Cairo Press
1986
Cairo, Egypt
ISBN 977 424 113 4
Dar el Kutub no. 4130/85

4. Akhenaten: Pharaoh of Egypt- It is hard to write a list of books to recommend to my viewers without including something by the late Cyril Aldred. The subject of the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten cannot be forgotten being a favorite subject of Egyptologists young and old. In this fertile ground Mr. Aldred produced one of the finest representations of the lives the king and royal family lived in their capital at Akhetaten.

Cyril Aldred
Thames and Hudson
First Abacus Edition
Great Britain
1972
ISBN-10: 0500276218

5. Pharaohs and Mortals: Egyptian Art in the Middle Kingdom- The collection of art put together in this 1988 exhibition likely will never be seen again as so many of Great Britain's finest Egyptian collections lent pieces to this show. Too often now a days exhibitions are organized around pharaonic personalities like Tutankhamun, Cleopatre or Ramses II. Here in this catalog author Janine Bourriau presents an outstanding collection of art of the Middle Kingdom to rival anything from the New Kingdom.

Janine Bourriau
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Cambridge University Press
Great Britain
1988
ISBN 0 521 35846 9

6. The Treasures of Tutankhamun- This is the book and guide to the 1972 fiftieth anniversary exhibition of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. The exhibition was held at the British museum with objects from the boy king's tomb, many of which are now according to Egyptian law unable to leave Egypt again including the pharaoh's mask.

British Museum Exhibition
The Trustees of the British Museum
Thames & Hudson Ltd.
London
1972
ISBN: 0 7230 0070 0