Raymond Faulkner (1894–1982)

I doubt at any point in my life I'll ever properly appreciate what the Pyramid Texts are, this books by James P. Allen or anyone else who dares to compile the Texts. I'm not versed in ancient Egyptian mythology, death rituals, or the reigns of the kings and queens of the Old Kingdom. I'll probably never will. It's just not something I'll be dedicating a large chunk of my life to. However, that won't stop me from appreciating what's accessible to me. The Ancient Egyptian Texts gives a quick show more introduction to the rulers and the layout of their tombs before transcribing the full death rituals--the instructions, the spells, everything. For just a few people included such as Unis and both Pepis, this book accumulated over 400 pages of text. Truly, Allen kept his descriptions brief and let the Egyptians author almost all of the book. Over 4000 year old written language, the third oldest surviving today, I can read in as raw form as the English language can take advantage of. Despite understanding so little, I appreciate so much. show less

Just to set a few things straight: 1) this is Faulkner's translation, not Budge's. 2) Some of these might have been spoken as incantations - but we don't know. The texts grouped into the Book of the Dead were meant to protect the person in the afterlife by their very presence. 3) My copy doesn't have a jewel, but there you go.

This is, however, a truly gorgeous and fascinating book, remarkable for having the English translation running below photographs of the glorious Papyrus of Ani. The show more texts themselves are obscure and weird even to many Egyptologists, but there's a lot to learn here, and some beautiful poetry. show less

The Egyptian Book of the Dead was written around the beginning of the New Kingdom. This was around 1600 B.C., or before Christ. A crucial part of Egyptian culture was the afterlife. The Egyptians also valued their mythology and gods. The Book of the Dead was essentially a guide to help Egyptians navigate their way to the afterlife. The book contains collections of hymns and spells, or as the book calls them "Chapters". As stated before, the Egyptians were very close to their gods. Due to show more this, many of the hymns and spells were written in honor of these gods. They were mainly Osiris, Thoth, and Ra.

I believe that the Book of the Dead is very interesting. It's an in depth dive of the Egyptian's true beliefs. The whole concept of an afterlife is intriguing itself, and their are several different takes on it. The Egyptian's take on it is very fascinating. I find it alluring to see these hymns, and to think that their society might've been built around this concept is very thought-provoking. I also find it engaging in the fact that you can find more about the gods. It's great to see how dedicated the Egyptians were to the worship of their deities. Since it was a book about the afterlife, Osiris is a big part in the book. show less

Designed for the lay person, this book is nearly a work of art in itself which ought to thrill even a professional. It features king Tut jewelry and artifacts throughout, along with papyri and artifacts from other sources, to illustrate the many chapters of the ancient journey into the afterlife. A fake red jewel on the cover sets into a raised glossy repro of Tut's winged scarab on a black gloss and matt ground of hieroglyphs. Those embellishments make reading it feel like a magic show more ritual.

This is such a great time to be alive with fancy glossy books available for the masses produced by Barnes and Noble. To get such a book in their bargain books section for under $20 is astonishing. There is some consumer value after all to large corporations. When I was in college studying art history any colored art picture books cost way more [and especially valued more at 1960s dollars] for much less opulence. show less