The tomb and its "treasures" are the real focus.

books:


	• The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure (King Tut) Nicholas Reeves Thames & Hudson, 1995 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Splendors Of The Boy Pharaoh

Since the sensational discovery of the Boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun's almost intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922 there has been a regular stream of books dealing with the tomb, its discovery, and the rich bounty of treasures found in the burial. The books vary greatly in quality but I have to say that Nicholas Reeves' 1990 work on the subject "The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure", is without a doubt one of the very best on the subject and is full of informative information and historical background, and beautifully presented colour and black and white photographs on the subject all displayed in an easy to read format that has a logical flow to it. Indeed "The Complete Tutankhamun", is a small jewel box in itself and is essential reading for all budding Egyptologists or people interested in the customs and religious beliefs of ancient civilisations such as Egypt.

Beginning with a highly appropriate forward written by the present Seventh Earl of Carnarvon the format of the book is very well thought out and takes the reader firstly through the time that Tutankhamun lived in which of course was the controversial Amarna period created by the "Heretic Pharaoh", Akhenaten. This section provides much needed information on Tutankhamun's life much of which is still largely unknown to us. It deals with the Pharaoh's childhood and his eventual succession to the throne of Egypt as a 8 year old God and most interestingly looks at other monuments that Tutankhamun was responsible for creating during his short 9 year reign, most of which were usurped by later rulers. Later sections explore in detail the search for the tomb of the mysterious boy Pharaoh and its eventual discovery and excavation by Howard Carter. The tomb itself , small and largely undecorated compared to other Pharaoh's tombs is examined in an often interesting manner using three dimensional drawings to show its layout and side views. Finally the burial and the tomb's magnificent treasures encompassing golden shrines, jewellery, solid gold coffins, exotic animal figurines, and clothing are examined in detail. This section of the book is in particular a treat as the stunning colour photography really shows each piece described to its best advantage.

When one thinks of Tutankhamun's tomb one always thinks of gold and jewels however one of the great strengths of "The Complete Tutankhamun", is that good coverage is given to the myriad of personal and domestic objects that accompanied a Pharaoh on his journey to his new life. Interesting examinations of food stuffs, clothing, board games, and even touching family heirlooms like a boyhood bow and arrow belonging to Tutankhamun's childhood and a lock of Tutankhamun's Grandmother Queen Tiye's hair are examined and it is these less spectacular items that go a long way towards showing the reader more about just who Tutankhamun was as both boy and Pharaoh. Each section of the book is accompanied by a huge selection of photographs that are both from the time of the discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun and more recent ones photographed at the Cairo Museum. Those photos that are contemporary with the discovery of the tomb are of great interest and reveal the painstaking work involved in the clearing and cataloguing of even a small tomb such as Tutankhmaun's. Rarely has a book on this subject managed to incorporate photos of so many of the items from Tutankhamun's tomb which helps make "The Complete Tutankhamun", one of the definitive sources of information for the modern reader about a Pharaoh's burial and of Tutankhamun and Egypt near the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

"The Complete Tutankhamun", is one of my most cherished books on Ancient Egypt and I strongly recommend it to history and art lovers as one of the best sources of information on the Egypt of the glorious Eighteenth Dynasty. Egpyt of the time of the Pharaohs always seems to have a real attraction to even those people not greatly interested in history and this beautiful book is just the thing to satisfy anyone curious with this fascinating young ruler during Egypt's golden age. Make this gem part of your history library soon it is sure to become a treasured acquisition that you will find yourself returning to time and time again.

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The tomb and its "treasures" are the real focus.

If you want a multitude of pictures and a fair discussion of the tomb's discovery and the objects found in it, then this is an excellent book. We used this in a grad/undergrad level seminar I took back at Columbia University because it is so detailed on the tomb and its discovery. However, when it comes to information about Tutankhanum himself there are only 20 pages that look at his life and the historical context of his life, most of that is spent on his family and the dynasty he is part of. 20 pages out of 200+?! This is why I'm giving this book only 4 stars -- the cover and the summary offered by the book itself suggests the book has three parts and this first one is barely there.

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Great introduction......

The Complete Tutankhamun by Nicholas Reeves proves to be a great introductory book on the discoveries made by Howard Carter in 1922. The book covers the history surrounding Tutankhamun during his time and the reasoning why his tomb was overlooked. But the book centered around Howard Carter whose tireless efforts finally paid off and his parton, Lord Carnarvon who financed and supported Carter. There are sections for each part of the tomb and what treasures were found there. There is a lot of information in this book on the content of the treasures that have gained so much attention since it revealation. The coverage of the book is pretty complete although as one previous reviewer wrote that there isn't much in terms of analysis or insight in this book But I thought that part may be left to other books since this book is your basic but very complete coverage of the discoveries of Tomb of Tutankhamun.

The book proves to be well written and easy to read for any one who may be interested in this subject. The author obviously have great command of the subject matter and wrote in a matter that is easy to understand. There are enough photos and illustrations in this book to dazzled most readers although I wished there were more color photos. The book was published in 1990 so it doesn't includes some of the new insights into the real Tutankhamun or his treasures that came out in the past 17 years. But within the context of this book, maybe that may not be so important.

But overall, this is an highly informative book that should interest anyone who have any interest in this subject or history of ancient Egypt.

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Tut in a Nutshell

Though no book is truely a complete examination of the tomb and its contents, Reeves has done an excellent job. Though hardly an exhaustive study, this volume is filled with color and black & white photos Tutankhamun's Tomb: The Thrill of Discovery: Photographs by Harry Burton (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications), line drawings, lists and tables of every room in the tomb. Wine, clothes, boxes, jewelry, statues, seal impressions, ritual devices, etc., are well documented with Howard Carter's original numbers.

How the tomb was found, its archaeology, Tut's family line, newspaper articles at the time of discovery, letters and diagrams put this volume near the top of every Egyptophile's "must have" list.

Take a look at the giant sized "Tutankhamun" by T.G.H. James Tutankhamunfor another incredible detailed photographic account of the treasures from the tomb.

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Thorough but narrow in scope

While this book provided an impressively thorough list of all the artifacts found in King Tutankhamun's tomb, it was sorely lacking in analysis and commentary. There was a brief chapter toward the beginning that dealt with the history of the boy king, followed by approximately two hundred pages detailing every little artifact found in the tomb. While this was interesting at times, it quickly began to feel like a list rather than a commentary.

This book is a perfect for the reader who is exploring the tomb to a great deal of depth. That is, if a reader has read several other books on the life of the king and is thoroughly familiar with Egyptian art and culture, then this book could provide an excellent means through which he or she could become more acquainted with the particulars.

This book is not, however, for people who want a "one-stop" book to read and come away with a brief understanding of the key points of the reign of the king, Egyptian society, and the artifacts of the tomb.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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