The Illustrated Egyptian Book of the Dead

by Ramses Seleem

"See, is it not written in this scroll? Read, you who will discover it in future ages...Read, children of the future and learn the secrets of the best...." According to Egyptian religion, we are travelers in eternity who require initiation in a body of knowledge that will take us into death...and beyond. The Egyptian Book of the Dead serves as our guide on this journey, an indispensable spiritual map--and here is the essence of that timeless guide, the complete Papyrus of Hunefer, with illustrations on every page, translation, and commentary. Brilliantly drawn hieroglyphs match the monumental writing on the temple walls and even surpass them in quality and clarity. Prayers, breathing exercises for protection, the "negative confessions"--assertions you have not sinned--and other rituals draw you fully into the spiritual experience. An introduction to one of the most important texts ever written, presented in visually breathtaking style.

Genres: Nonfiction, Egyptology, Mythology, History, Egypt

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Drushaun Humphrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book "Egyptian Book of the Dead" is about the life and death Pharaohs like Ramses and King Tut. It talks about different myths and legends of Egyptian Gods For example:the story of how the evil God Set tricked his brother the good God Osiris into a golden casket. He took the casket and cut Osiris's body into different parts and scattered them all over the world. Then,Osiris's wife Isis traveled all around the world to collect all the body parts and while she did that Osiris and Isis son Horus came up with a way to stop Set. When Isis finally collects all the body parts and ressurects Osiris, Horus finally defeats Set and Osiris takes back the throne of rightful king. Plus this book includes a lot of facts on how the Egyptians buried their dead and buried their Pharaohs.

I like the book because it shows a lot about African American history and how providing and resourceful the Egyptians were. It gives a good idea about how great they lived too, with golds and riches. I had a particularly strong emotional reaction while reading it because I was surprised to find out that I might have an ancestor who lived like kings and queens, or was probably even one of the Israelites who followed Moses and witnessed the 10 commandments. It made me think about African American history in a new way because it shows us that at first we had a successful history even though we went through a lot of rough times like slavery. I could relate to Horus because after his father died he had to take responsibility for his reputation and become just as legendary as his dad. I can relate to that because after my dad died I had to become just as great and legendary as him

The "Egyptian Book of the Dead " didn't really remind me of any other book because that was my first Egyptian book that wasn't fake and children like. I think out of all people an Egyptologist would like this the most and the second best would be a person who just really likes Egyptian history and culture. Plus, I definitely think readers who enjoys mysteries because there are a lot of unresolved mysteries.

[Meghan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is utterly useless as a translation. Every aspect of the texts is filtered through the author's bizarre crackpot neo-Egyptian religious beliefs. Naturally, there are no citations for anything, except the illustrations, which are quite nice.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you love ancient egypt...

[Robin Gane-McCalla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling set og claims about the beliefs of Ancient Egyptians. There are no citations other than pictures of the texts themselves - so there's room for skepticism. Despite its brevity - it's also hard to follow - there is an overview of various terminology but interpretation is often left to the reader. The author makes several interesting claims about the influence of Ancient Egypt on modern religion. Firstly, he emphasizes that the religion was monotheistic. Secondly, he provides a list of 42 negative confessions which he claims inspired the 10 commandments (and remarks that Ancient Egyptian religion was more personal and not dependent on a redeemer saving people, but enabling people to forge their own destiny). Lastly, he claims that the basis of several Greek gods were Egyptian. We are given the impression that the Ancient Egyptians had very advanced ideas and that subsequent cultures simplified them.

The text of the main papyrus is systematically detailed with a copy of the plates with the pictures and hieroglyphic text. The illustrations are described, followed by a translation of the text and then commentary on the text. The story is of the death of a scribe which goes into details of complex beliefs relating to the process of death.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures and translations were nice but the commentary seems a bit far-fetched. Even if one were open to more unofficial or unorthodox ideas about ancient cultures, I think some claims are rather thin.

[Olivia Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topics but very dry.

[Devo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skimmed this more than read it, but it was rather informative. The author's commentary was helpful and the pictures were stunning.