Araldo De Luca

Gorgeous oversized hardback showing off the treasures in the Cairo Museum. The book opens with a brief history of the museum and details of its layout, before sweeping through Ancient Egypt in a burst of dazzling colour.

Amenta takes the reader from the very earliest era before the Pharaonic dynasties took shape, right through the reigns of the great rulers of Ancient Egypt to its demise under the influence of Roman and Greek invaders. Each era is outlined and its key features and rulers identified, before a selection of the most impressive, beautiful and important artefacts from the museum are offered for inspection. These include statues, sarcophagi, everyday items, funerary objects and a gorgeous array of finely crafted jewellery.

As suggested by the title, the unrivalled treasure of Tutankhamun's tomb is particularly well represented, together with the rich material from other rulers of the 18th and the surrounding dynasties, including Amunhotep III, the heretic king Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti. There are also a few pages about the mummies of some of the most eminent Pharaohs, which was intriguing but maybe not best viewed over breakfast...

The photography is amazing and each and every artefact was fascinating to examine, sometimes with additional details picked out for closer attention - although the captions could have been longer and more informative, even if it was only for some of the most important items. I also noticed quite a few screaming spelling and grammatical mistakes which should have been picked up by the editors - HOWEVER, that definitely shouldn't put anyone off as the photos alone made this one of the most worthwhile and beautiful books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.… (more)

This book provides a wonderful pictorial view of Pompeii. The pictures are outstanding -- large, colorful, and, in some cases, haunting.

In addition to the beautiful photographs, the text is arranged quite well, and is broken down into very logical sections (Discovery, Public Life, Religious Life, Commercial Life, Private Life) with detailed text and accompanying photos.

Did I mention how LARGE this book is? It's huge -- and many photographs are full page, or double page. And one is a fold out, spanning four full pages.… (more)