Thompson, J. 2015. Wonderful Things. A History of Egyptology. 1: From Antiquity to 1881

Abstract

A good number of well-established colleagues, such as Brian Fagan, Kara Cooney and Kent Weeks, have written book reviews of “Wonderful Things” (see http://www.aucpress.com/p- 4927-wonderful-things.aspx) and I can only confirm their enthusiasm and opinions. ‘Wonderful Things’ “follows the fascination [of men] with ancient Egypt from antiquity until 1881, tracing the recovery of ancient Egypt and its impact on the human imagination in a saga filled with intriguing mysteries, great discoveries, and scholarly creativity” (flap text). It is a book that the Egyptological world and, surely, the world at large was waiting for for a long time. It fills a gap that was getting bigger as time passed by. For the first time, the history of the pioneers of Egyptology and their work has been assembled and written down in easy and pleasant to read prose, giving us insight into bygone days which, I am sure, a lot of present day scientists would do much for to be part of, if only briefly. These were the days of major discoveries, with the science we now call ‘Egyptology’ being established and developed. The author not only discusses the well-known pioneers but also those that, accidentally or not, are less well-known. Moreover, Thompson is honest and does not ignore the less pleasant sides of characters and their activities in these early days. Read more...