Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs

by Zahi Hawass, Sandro Vannini (Photographer)

Mysterious boy king Tutankhamun returns to the U.S. in 2008, bringing rare treasures never before seen outside Egypt. For the millions of fans wanting a keepsake and chronicle of this magnificent new exhibition, this book will delight. Created by world-renowned art historians under the guidance of Zahi Hawass—director of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and a well-known media personality—it surveys 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian history by focusing on the lives and lifestyles of great pharaohs. Master photographer Sandro Vannini spotlights every dazzling artifact, using an innovative technique that makes the image jump off the page. The book’s design echoes the exhibition, grouping objects representing family life, religious practices, funerary rituals, and gold. In each artifact—a queen’s eye makeup container, a likeness of a princess eating duck, a sarcophagus made for a prince’s cat—we glimpse the life of ancient Egyptian exotic and fascinating, yet so human. Gold gleams in a leopard-mask of gilded wood, a brilliant pendant bearing tiny goddesses, even the golden finger and toe covers of Tutankhamun himself, meant to protect his extremities in the afterlife. Featuring more than 120 treasures, a dozen evocative landscape and archaeology photos, and illuminating text, this book makes palpable the excitement, riches, and mysteries of ancient Egypt. It will be prominently displayed in all exhibition venues, and its contents will interest visitors to the show as well as Tut enthusiasts across the country.

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Genres: History, Egypt, Nonfiction, Egyptology

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Nadya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I attended the exhibition that this book is accompanying, and in that way it is a good companion piece. As a standalone, it is a bit lacking. There is some repetition of the same facts, and also some items are out of order (e.g. a term is explained at the end of the book when the term has been used throughout with no explanation).

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

after a while, it turns into a list of everything that was found in the tomb.

[Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The info is plentiful and the images are crisp HD. First they talk about all the Pharaohs and dynasties in the old, middle, and new kingdom. Then it talks about how the tombs and temples were created in the old kingdom. Then it talked about the Middle Kingdom and how statues were more human like and how the tombs were then built with corridors, a supported roof, and indoor columns. Finally, it talked about the new kingdom and how they started making statues of women and how statues became more exaggerated with the face. I like this book because it contains a bunch of detail. At the end, they have a gallery of different artifacts of the different kingdoms. But the title is misleading and the book talks more about Egypt in general then Tutankhamun himself. But the book is still interesting so check it out if you want to know more about Egypt.

[Xarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the exhibit in Houston. It was absolutely and totally amazing! I had seen pictures of some of the objects on display, but seeing them in real life was an unforgettable experience. I had not realized the detail and the talent the artists had when creating these objects. This book allowed me to relive that experience and made me love Ancient Egypt even more than I already do!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for free (woo!) through my work, as I currently work for the exhibition in question.

It's pretty good, a lot of Zahi Hawass (as you would come to expect), but don't let that dissuade you. The pieces in the collection are beautiful and it gave me a deeper understanding.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went to the Seattle exhibit today and was thrilled to find this book in the gift shop. It has most of the artifacts from the exhibit, such a fun way to look back and remember what I saw. If you get the opportunity you should really go see this it was AMAZING!

[Ian Muttoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful photography.