Jaromir MALEK. 1999. _Egyptian Art_. London: Phaidon Press. Pp. 447 with appendices, glossary, map and photographs. ISBN 0-7148-3627-3 (hb).

This book by Egyptologist Jaromir Malek is a concise, affordable introduction to Egyptian art in ten compact chapters, each one of which is a self-contained essay. Malek begins with an ethnographic description of the ancient land and discussions of art and architecture in paleolithic and dynastic times. His text follows the standard chronology of Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. Separate chapters cover the Amarna interlude, Egypt under the Greeks and Romans and how Egyptian themes and images have been perceived and presented in Western art in the recent past.

Malek presents his synthesis of design and meaning through discussing numerous photographs gracing the text. But, he clearly separates the didactic and rhetorical use of design conventions from historical events and social life. He writes "...the artistic record should not be taken as a comprehensive statement about the mentality or daily preoccupations of the Egyptians" (p. 21). The Egyptians created their art primarily "...as a carrier of ideas" (p. 61) for the state and for religious institutions and used it to fulfill political and ritual functions. Little was created solely for its value as design or image.

_Egyptian Art_ is not a social history of Egypt, but Malek carefully places the evolution of design elements (hieroglyphics, images) and objects (statues, temples, tombs) in sequences based on dynastic dates. He briefly explains the rationale of important conventions and design choices; examples are why a human body is depicted in frontal view while a face is profiled, why a right arm may be attached to a left shoulder, and why color and cardinal direction are important compositional elements. The book, however, is not a monograph on canonical design rules or belief systems expressed in art. Malek wisely does not clutter the text with explanations of hieroglyphics and how to read them; they are treated as elements in a structural ensemble.

This book is a clear and thoughtful introduction to ancient Egyptian art by a specialist whose text speaks of experience and balanced judgment. Extensively illustrated, the book is a measured treatment of this technical subject and rewards patient reading. General readers and beginning students will like it. Notes on further reading are keyed to each chapter. A glossary, lists of deities and kings, a timeline and a map provide useful reference tools. To his credit, Malek does not wrestle with fantastic claims made by some students of ancient Egypt; he graciously dismisses them.

Both author and publisher faced trade-offs in bringing an affordable and useful book to market. The historical scope leaves scant room to completely explore pieces and buildings and the smallish page size diminishes the visual detail and impact of the plates. Nonetheless, this compact introduction to the stylistic and iconological evolution of Egyptian art is handsome and worthy.

This book provides a history of Egyptian writing, scribes, hieroglyphs, grammar, numbers and gods. It also includes an interesting section of English-hieroglyphs vocabulary. The authors tell the readers about the decipherment of the ancient language and its importance. Well illustrated, this is a wonderful introductory book, for new students.

This is the first of three fascicles of translations of hieroglyphic (historical) inscriptions, recorded in hieroglyphic types by W. Helck in "Urkunden des Neuen Reiches". There are crossed references to this early edition. The translation are scholarly and authoritatively made by Miss Cumming, who should be thanked for putting in the hands of those who are not able to read hieroglyphs such an amount of fundamental texts. Likewise, the scholars should be grateful to her for making their task easier and for providing a reference-edition to these valuable historical sources.

I haven't read Lord of the Flies since high school, but it was hard to believe this book was written by the same author. At age 72, Golding agrees to sail the Nile with his wife and "crew" and write a book about it. This creates an anxiety that surfaces throughout the book, like Seinfeld's show about nothing. With charm, wit and a sense of fatalism, he sets off on what becomes a largely uneventful trip. It is this dilemma - his attempts to find sights and local color - and his descriptions of these travails that are the heart of the book. An enjoyable read, with some history and insights on Egyptian culture, it is filled with the delight and crankiness that accompany any trip worth taking.

This interesting book provides English translations of several ancient Egyptian texts, including a few hard-to-find stories. Written in a clear style, the tales are easily read and understood. Among the stories found are the Story of Osiris; the Destruction of Mankind by Re; the Capture of Joppa; the Sphinx and the King's Dream; the Tale of Two Brothers; the Famine Stela; the Landing of Noah's Ark; the Doomed Prince; as well as stories concerning the creation of the world. This is a book which accurately relates the most important ancient Egyptian tales. Illustrated in black and white, it is most useful for students.

The book is excellent!It lets you discover all about the gods,the rituals and the spell practiced in the ancient Egypt and you find out why the egyptian civilization was so mysterious.I think Christian Jacq made his best again to amaze all the ancient Egypt lovers.

A clever visual slight of hand makes this a fun book for children and adults. I couldn't get it away from my six year old long enough to really explore all the contents.

The Egyptians offers readers a brief but fascinating overview of over two thousand years of Egyptian religion, practice and daily life. Michael Hayes orders his information well, giving enough detail of recent discoveries and contradictary theories to keep the reader informed, but not so much the reader is lost or bored. Nearly every page has a photograph of a relevent artifact from Eyptology and a corresponding description of the importance of the pictured item. The Egyptians is an excellent introduction to Eyptian history and culture. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the Eyptian ideas of religion. The only disappointment with this book was its failure to mention (except in passing) the period of time the Hebrews dwelt under Eygptian rule. As this was a 400-year period, I thought it should be important enough to raise more than a passing reference to Moses. Other than this omittance, the book was very good.

This book was recommended to me as a homeschool mom. It contains neat hands-on activities to reinforce learning. You even learn how to make a mummy! This book is a great addition while learning about Egyptians.

I read _El Alamein_ years ago when I first wanted an in-depth description of the Battle fo El Alamein. Since then I have read several books on the battle yet still find Sir Michael Carver's history to be the best.

Carver covers the period surrounding the Second Battle of El Alamein. It includes the Battle of Alma Halfa, the removal of Auchinleck, and the several stages of the Second Battle of El Alamein itself. Carver is well-placed to describe this battle. He fought in it and went on to become one of Britain's best armoured commanders.

Carver gives a detailed account of the battle in a coherent and straight-forward narrative. The reason I gave the book four stars instead of five is that the straight-forward detail of the book can sometimes be a bit dry. Nevertheless, the book is a classic within the historiography of the North Africa Campaign, even though it has been many years since its original publication.