Anyone interested in ancient Egypt will give a warm welcome to this handy book with which the fine Metropolitan Museum of Arts of New York reunites a series of papers written by famous names such as C. Aldred and H.G. Fischer, originally issued in its "Journal" and out of print since long ago. There is a sequel to this title, so that: buyers inquire about it (and be lucky to find it!). A must for Egypt-lovers and Egyptologists.

Cyril Aldred does an excellent job in both his fairly extensive text and the recreations of the surviving ancient images (some are more interpretive than originals) of Tut. "His Friends" is an odd concept since we know relatively little about this boy king who gave up the religious changes of his predecessor and died young without an heir. These are mostly relatives and advisors, not really friends.

The book is well researched and brings detailed information about Egyptology, but when it comes to the biographee, the conclusions presented are simply ludicrous.

First the author, unable to account for Akhenaton's unusual appearance, states that he suffered from a so-called Frohlich Syndrome; however, as that Frohlich disease is an utterly sterilizing one, and Akhenaton is always depicted surrounded by his beloved wife Nefertiti and their many children, Aldred has to rack his brains to support his amazing theory. What does he comes up with then? Of course! All Akhenaton and Nefertiti's seven children were actually generated by Akhenaton's old father, Amenhotep III! How come we never thought of it!

Later on, Aldred forgets all he said before and states, based on nothing but his own weird fantasy, that Akhenaton simply... married his own daughter, and, guess what? had children with her! Extraordinary! Did he cure himself of his Frohlich disease and fathered his grandchild, or did old Amenhotep III play again the stallion and fathered his great-grandchild? Well, that can hardly be, for old Amenhotep was dead and mummified for a long time by then; so, who's the newborn's real father this time? Tuthankhamen? Perhaps the author should have cured himself of that incestmania of his before committing to Egyptology, which is supposed to be a serious science.

Cyril Aldred was one of the best minds ever to work in Egyptology. He used both common sense and intelligence, and rarely found himself swept up in the fantasies that abound in Egyptology. This book is an excellent example of his meticulous work. Read, for example, his chapter deciphering the contents of KV55. Not just the mummy, but the shrines and other objects, found in a hopeless jumble. Guided by what is simple and probable, he presents a reasonable explanation of how the tomb was found in that state it was; and how such a mixed burial, with objects referring to Akhenaten, Tiye and Smenkhara, came to be.

He also treats Akhenaten's "monotheism" with much less awe that it is usually given. He points out that it wasn't quite a religion ahead of its time, but a return to Old Kingdom sun-worship, and that it was by no means monotheism as we now consider it.

To respond to the issue raised in the review below: Aldred didn't invent the theory of Froelich's syndrome. It was a going theory at that time, as Egyptologists tried to find an explanation for Akhenaten's unique and somewhat feminine appearance.

Aldred knew the disease caused impotence. A working theory for many Egyptologists was that the disease went into remission before it made Akhenaten sterile. Aldred does present the idea that Amenhotep III might have fathered the children, if Akhenaten had been unable to. However, he then shows artwork of Akhenaten in mourning, with a growth of beard, showing that he did have secondary sex characteristics. Aldred then concludes the most likely theory is that Akhenaten fathered his own children.

In regard to the "incest-mania": that, too, was a going theory, not one invented by Aldred. It results from the fact that Akhenaten's three eldest princesses all evidently had daughters when they were very young, and when they were not married. Inscriptions refer to the these infants as "child of the king."

The theory goes that, in a mad attempt to have a male heir of fully royal blood, Ahenaten fathered children on his own children. A distasteful thought, but his own father married his daughter, Akhenaten's sister Sit-Amun, so again there is some basis for the idea.

Aldred also discusses the co-regency of Smenkhara. I personally think he would make short work of current theories that the ruler was really Nefertiti in drag, ruling as Pharaoh. For one thing, he discusses funerary objects (ushebtis) with Nefertiti's name on them which come from about the year 14, the year she "disappeared" or was "exiled." So it would seem likely she died at that time. For another, the body in tomb 55 is a royal male body, evidently an older brother of Tutankhamun. And portraits of King Smenkhara look nothing at all like Nefertiti. They do, however, show family resemblance to Akhenaten and Tut.

To return to the disease that plagued Akhenaten, I think author Bob Brier has it right. He has identified the disease as Marfan's syndrome, which causes, among other things, unusually long fingers and toes. He outlines his theory in his book about King Tut's death. His theory about the boy-king's murder is a bit farfetched, but his work on Marfan's syndrome would seem to be a breakthrough in solving this mystery.

If you are remotely interested in this brief period of history, Aldred's Akhenaten is a must-have.

Written by a notorious Egyptologist, this classic tells of Akhenaten and Nefertiti's life and family, the foundation of Amarna,and the conception of monotheism. One of the best books ever written on the subject, it is well researched and extremely informative, with many illustrations. Definitely recommended to anyone interested in learning more about this pharaoh.

this book has 14 chapters the loss and recovery of pagan egypt, the ancient places, the natural resources, the settlement of egypt, predynastic egypt, the archaic period the pyrimid age of the old kingdom 1 and 2, the first intermediate period, the middle kingdom, the second intermadiate period, the new kingdom, the third intermediate period, and egyptian social groups. when i bought this book i thought it would more about the people but found that it was more about the times, i was alittle upset but i found this book to be one of the best books i have yet to buy. but if you are looking for books more about people joyce tyldesley is another great writer who has books on women in generl, hatchepsut, and nefertiti. but i really do think you should buy this book its great.

This is a good bird's eye view of the emergence of Egyptian civilization as it appears almost in parallel to the rise of the Sumerian world. The earliest period of Egyptian civilization after the unification of the upper and lower kingdoms is, as Aldred suggests, the most creative, and the entire cycle of civilization stretches as long as the period in our tradition from the Classical Greeks to modern times, a tremendous range, with an amazing overall continuity. A closer look shows the change in character of the civilization and many interior transformations. This account is a fine beginning to Egyptian history. To the ancient Greeks this world was what they meant by 'ancient'

I recommend Aldred's "The Egyptians" more than Grimal's book "A History of Ancient Egypt," which is vague and confusing. Aldred's book is definitely a much better and more reliable introduction to all aspects of this civilization, from history to religion, geography to social ranks.

This volume is actually a re-issed version of his earlier work. the illustration are fine, but the text is dated & sometimes a little skewed by his own theories. It is not a bad place to start one's reading, but really reflects the scholarship of 30 or more years ago.

Dr. Aldred does not need to be introduced: he is one of the most distinguished Egyptologists at the present time; being an expert in the subject, it is not surprising that this historical overview of ancient Egyptian Art should be recommended to anyone interested in following its steps from the beginnings to the end of Pharaonic History. Well-written, with many color and b&w illustrations cleverly chosen to enhance the contents. There are the too-often reproduced "masterpieces", but also several objects of interest not easily accesible to general public. Highly recommended also for lovers of the History of Arts.

An excellent chronological survey of Egyptian art by one of the Egyptology's best writers.

I have always been interested in ancient Egypt but this book focused on the jewelry, which I had only read about in general terms.

In the section about the recovery of ancient Egyptian jewelry, the author talked about how discoveries are more often made by accident than by a deliberate, planned search. Many treasures have been dispersed all over the world because of being found by private persons.

Materials were selected for their color rather than for their "refractive powers, brilliance, or rarity."

Next the author discussed the uses of jewelry in ancient Egypt. Jewelry was used for personal adornment of men as much as for women, and used in burials, for the shrines of the gods, and as temple furnishings. The most common use of jewelry was as amulets - to protect the wearers from harm.

The materials used by craftsmen to make jewelry in ancient Egypt were shells, horns, tusks, claws, stones, and gold. Some of the most popular stones were carnellian, lapis lazuli, and turquoise (very different from the veiny turquoise we see here in the U.S).

A very informative book.

Of all the books about ancient Egyptian jewelry,I found this to be the most helpful to my cause: studying the designs ancient Egyptian used and modifying them for my artwork. There are many color plates which help to illuminate the text decriptions. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. His prose is straightforward and easy to read for even a layman, such as I. I really enjoyed this book.

This book is a designed to be an introduction to early Egypt. There are chapters on prehistoric Egypt, the Predynastic period, the Archaic period, and the Old Kingdom. Considerable time is spent examining Egyptian art, and the graphics are excellent. As an added bonus, there are two pages that contain diagrams of the interiors of the various pyramid, something I have seen nowhere else.

I highly recommend this book.