I studied the ancient world in college, but Egypt really got my attention when I covered the CT scanning of King Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings on January 5, 2005, for National Geographic magazine, where I was a staff writer for many years. Ancient Egypt has become one of my great passions, especially the royal successions of the 18th dynasty and the saga of King Tut. I’m currently president of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the American Research Center in Egypt, and I host a lecture about ancient Egypt every month for that group. I’m also studying hieroglyphs—and appreciating how the landscape comes alive now that I can read the signs.
I wrote
Treasures of Egypt: A Legacy in Photographs From the Pyramids to Cleopatra
This is
one of my go-to books. There is simply no other book that rounds up all the
aspects of the search for Tut’s tomb, the eventual discovery and the stunning contents
for the general reader. It’s a good read and a very helpful reference that I
return to again and again. It’s most especially useful in how it organizes the
artifacts from the tomb, with chapters on everything from the golden
sarcophagus and mask to the ritual couches, jewelry, clothing, games and musical
instruments, chairs and thrones, and much more. It’s got lists. It’s got
photos. It’s an indispensable reference.
The Tomb of Tutankhamun, with its breathtaking treasures, has exerted a unique hold on the popular imagination ever since its discovery by Howard Carter in 1922. It remains the greatest tomb find ever made. This is the fullest account yet published of the world's greatest archaeological discovery.
Contents include: * the story of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon's long quest for the tomb in the Valley of the Kings * double-page features on each stage of the discovery, each chamber of the tomb, and all the main treasures * extracts from Carter's notes and diaries and first-time publication of many…
A very handsome book filled
with color photos that also has in-depth information about individual artifacts
from the time of King Tut, and from the teenage king’s tomb. Another book that
I use a lot as a reference. It begins with information on Egypt’s political
situation before Tut’s reign and includes pages showing representative
artifacts from that era. But of course, there are lots from Tut’s time on the
throne too—essays on statues from Karnak, an exquisite cosmetics container in
the shape of a goose, model ships for Tut to travel on in the afterlife, and
more. No one has ever published a complete catalogue of Tut’s fabulous stuff,
so those of us who are interested in those things buy books like this to
collect info for when we need it.
The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun - the most spectacular royal tomb ever found - is one of the most famous events in the history of archaeology. The treasures of this tomb surpass all others and the 50 Tutankhamun artifacts featured in this book illustrate many uses of gold and other precious materials in ancient Egypt, providing us with a glimpse into the extraordinary richness of this ancient civilization. The book also includes cutting-edge forensic data that may provide tantalizing clues to Tutankhamun's mysterious life and death. In addition, artifacts from the period preceding the reign of Tutankhamun will…
The
mother of all coffee-table books. Fabulous photos by Araldo de Luca, who’s
famous for shooting Tut’s personal effects in ways that show them at their
stunning best. And text written by T.G.H. James, long-time keeper of the
department of ancient Egypt at the British Museum and one of the great
authorities on the teenage king and his era. If I’m stuck on a gnarly detail
about some of King Tut’s stuff, I turn here. I get information that I can
trust, and images that allow me to see the tiniest of evocative details.
The purpose of this book is to describe by text and illustration the extraordinary tomb of this seemingly unimportant king of the late Eighteenth Dynasty, with its exceptional contents. An introductory chapter sets the historical scene for the reign of Tutankhamun, placing it in the context of the anciently reviled period of heresy associated with King Akhenaten, and its disintegration after his death. Tutankhamun ruled on the point of the change back to a traditional Egyptian regime, with the rehabilitation of the old gods, a change, which was consolidated after his death by his general Horemheb. A second chapter discusses…
Want to read about the discovery of Tut’s tomb, in the words of the man who found it and spent the next decade cataloguing and curating its contents? This is it. Originally published decades ago, the book has been recently re-issued, with the original black-and-white photos as well as a new companion volume of color images.
"What he writes has the stamp of first-hand knowledge and the grace of a sympathetic style. The world owes a debt of gratitude that the accident of the discovery of the tomb brought to it so painstaking a workman as the author—one who was willing to sacrifice the golden possibility of haste and fame to the slow accumulation of scientific knowledge."—The New York Times
"Let me try and tell the story of it all. It will not be easy, for the dramatic suddenness of the initial discovery left me in a dazed condition, and the months that have followed have…
I have just discovered this book and read it cover-to-cover in a flash. It’s full of all the details of who Howard Carter was, how he got to Egypt in the first place, how he found King Tut’s tomb, and how he maneuvered through such a politically charged aftermath. Tons of meticulous research went into this tale. I could not put it down once I started in.
This book presents the incredible story of the discovery of those 'wonderful things', and the splendour of the most memorial of all royal legends. Told with style and distinction, it includes previously unseen watercolours by Carter; the story of the relationship between Carter and his patrol, 5th Earl of Carnarvon and his daughter Lady Evelyn; new Foreword by Henrietta McCall of the British Museum; new Appendix devoted to the remarkable Almina Countess of Carnarvon, illegitimate daughter of Baron Alfred Rothschild, whose wedding dowry largely financed the search for the tomb and its excavation.
Drawing from National Geographic’s unparalleled photo archive, the images in this volume celebrate the beauty and rich cultural heritage of ancient Egypt on the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb.
Egypt’s history astonishes us again and again with priceless treasures, exquisite craftsmanship, and a bounty of artifacts that enable us to envision the past in extraordinary detail. It is an epic saga 5,000 years in the making, and one that National Geographic has covered for more than a century. Filled with vivid photographs, revealing timelines, and profiles of major explorers in the field, this exquisite book will inform and inspire.
I’m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond what’s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. I’ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate women’s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories they’d believed about themselves–or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives.
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.
The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…
