Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Boy King

by Zahi Hawass

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, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Archaeology, Egypt

64 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like I was sitting in a social studies class, and it lasted about as long. It did its best to describe the trappings, but nothing stood out to make this a "to-go" book. I read the audiobook; maybe the paper copy would have photos to make it all worthwhile?

2017 Lenten Buddy Reading Challenge book # 19

[Amy Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

After listening to the audiobook, I was left feeling like there must be more to Tutankhamun's life that wasn't explored here. Perhaps this is because we can only speculate on his past, but I still would have wanted to hear more speculation about these mysteries or at least the surrounding stories during this time period (like in chapter 6: After King Tut).

The book read like a journal entry from the Archeologist who wrote it which mostly covered what was found in King Tut's tomb and how those things may have related to King Tut's life and/or afterlife. I think this perspective should have been made known in the book's title. I was expecting a more historical read rather than a story from an archeologist.

My favorite chapter, chapter 6, was about what happened after Tutankhamun's death. It revealed a glimpse of Egypt's rocky relationship with the Hittites and the mystery around Tutankhamun's survived wife and suspiciously named King after.

To sum up my rating from the free audiobook experience, I'll be generous and give 2 stars since I got what wanted, a quick education, but didn't feel I gained more than what I could have gained from reading an article on Wikipedia. Maybe there's pictures in the book where more people got more value.

[Rhiannon Rickets -Dellar · Rating 3 out of 5]

An good introduction told from Famous Director
Zahi Hawass POV. Lovely photos and illustrations. Told in a ‘full circle’ kind of way mes img that it ends back on information where he begins his story of the boy king.

Very informative... one slight criticism is the photos don’t always correspond to images of history mentioned on the same page but rather the page before or after the information is given.

[Yasser Maniram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but insightful and written in a manner that kept my interest peaked.

[Amanda Gautier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short 61 page book that is so interesting and informative! Definitely worth the read.

[Sophie Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book I would recommend it.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick hour introduction to Tutankhamun. Good for budding archeologists.