- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Constable (29 May 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 184529579X
- ISBN-13: 978-1845295790
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14.2 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 944,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
Most people think they know the story of the Rosetta Stone and how scholars used it to translate Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. However, most accounts are fragmentary and lack the full chronology. This new and definitive version by Jonathan Downs brings together the full account from Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt in 1798 up to today's wrangles for ownership of this internationally famous artefact. There is an excellent account of the military conquest of Egypt followed by a tale of intrigue which saw English agents indulging in skulduggery to ensure that the precious stone went to London rather than Paris. Throughout the narrative, the pace never slackens and the reader often has to remind himself that this is a factual account and not a fictional adventure story. --Classic Arms and Militaria magazine
Review
What at first might seem to be a book relating to an archaeological find - a very important one at that - turns out to be a mix of military history and the mysteries of Ancient Egypt. And a fascinating book it is too.
Jonathan Downs's comprehensive account of the modern story of the Rosetta Stone takes in a great sweep of Napoleonic history and intrigue. It is a chronicle of one of the most famous artefacts in the world and how it came to rest in the British Museum in London and not in the Louvre in Paris. Most people know of the significance of the Rosetta Stone and its part in helping to unravel the mysteries of Egyptian hieroglyphics. What is less well known is how the Stone was discovered and how it was wrenched from the French and transported to England.
The book begins with Napoleon's campaign in Egypt. His army was accompanied by a corps of hand-picked scientists, artists, naturalists, geographers and engineers with a view to seizing not only the country for France, but also to rediscover the lost civilisation of the Nile. At first all went well with the French capturing Alexandria and the surrounding region. Many new finds were made, one of which was at Rosetta where a dark polished stone bearing three inscriptions in Greek, demotic and ancient hieroglyphs was uncovered by engineers. This was clearly a find of the greatest importance with relation to the ancient land and one which attracted a great deal of interest.
Before the author gets to the later story of the stone - its capture and passage to England, its significance to historians and the effort to decipher its secrets (a race between the British Thomas Young and the French linguist Jean-François Champollion) - he gives a good account of the military struggle and of the antagonism between Britain and France as they tried to seize power in the Middle East. From that point of view the book is a good history of the Egyptian campaigns of the late eighteenth century.
Jonathan Down's narrative style is easy to read and has an exciting pace. His research seems to have been spot on for the text is full of quotes and references that give his opinions some veracity. From a purely military perspective, the book has to share its contents with the wider historical subjects relating to the Stone.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best book about the historical drama surrounding the Rosetta stone,
By
This review is from: Discovery at Rosetta (Hardcover)
I read this book once and loved it. I am now reading it again. But this time I am underlining every salient point and it is amazing what I missed in the first read.
It is by far the best and most complete book about the history (and the drama) surrounding the Rosetta Stone. Johnathan Downs is a brilliant writer. I love his style: "...the valley that had once reverberated to the sound of the pharaohs' massed chariot wheels would echo now to the thunder of French cannon." A word smith indeed. I love the way he gives the background to the history of the conquests of Egypt and also the history surrounding France, along with their collective and personal (Napoleon) reasons for invading Egypt. A very reader-friendly book. Downs possesses the rare quality of taking months of potentially boring research, picking the most important/relevant pieces of information...and then breaking it all down so that it engages the average reader at street level. -- by Joel Freeman, the developer of the world's first and only full-size, 3D replica of the famous Rosetta Stone available to the general public -- RosettaStoneReplicas dot com
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riveting historical storytelling; fascinating characters,
By Frank Lawler - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Discovery at Rosetta: The Ancient Stone That Unlocked the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)
Downs' book is compelling historical narrative woven with colourful individuals: brilliant military tacticians, pompous paper-pushers, and tireless, heretofore-unsung archaeological academics. He provides an excellent historical overview of Egypt leading up to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. The reader never feels -- as I have often felt in other history books -- that he or she has been dropped into the middle of someone else's area of expertise, floundering for context and treading water in a sea of unfamiliar academic references. On the contrary: The whole historical landscape is laid out through the millenia from the Pharoahs through the Greek and Roman domination of Egypt, and on to Egypts's absorption into the Ottoman sphere of power right up to the increasing European influence on the Middle East in the face of the Napoleonic wars. Though he has obviously meticulously studied his subject and is himself highly steeped in his world military history, the author educates the reader without seeming in the least condescending or limiting himself purely to the military aspects: The famed black stone, though at the time of its discovery considered by the great powers to be mainly a military trophy, is treated by Downs with the appropriate value and respect due such a relic of universal importance. The true heroes of Downs' book are not the great military generals, but the humble yet tenacious French and English academics who, a century and a half before UNESCO was around, realized that some things transcend the empire-building priorities of individual nations. A highly recommended read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best book about the historical drama surrounding the Rosetta Stone,
By Publisher/Author - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Discovery at Rosetta: The Ancient Stone That Unlocked the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)
I read this book once and loved it. I am now reading it again. But this time I am underlining every salient point and it is amazing what I missed in the first read.
It is by far the best and most complete book about the history (and the drama) surrounding the Rosetta Stone. Johnathan Downs is a brilliant writer. I love his style: "...the valley that had once reverberated to the sound of the pharaohs' massed chariot wheels would echo now to the thunder of French cannon." A word smith indeed. I love the way he gives the background to the history of the conquests of Egypt and also the history surrounding France, along with their collective and personal (Napoleon) reasons for invading Egypt. A very reader-friendly book. Downs possesses the rare quality of taking months of potentially boring research, picking the most important/relevant pieces of information...and then breaking it all down so that it engages the average reader at street level. -- by Joel Freeman, the developer of the world's first and only full-size, 3D replica of the famous Rosetta Stone available to the general public -- [...] 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific historical review.,
By C. Perkins - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Discovery at Rosetta: The Ancient Stone That Unlocked the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)
This book is a must for anyone who loves history. I especially loved all the maps involved so I could follow along with this adventure.
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