Howard Carter and the Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun [Paperback]

This is a first class biography - in any way you look at it. Perhaps it is the author's journalism background that allows him to tell a thoroughly fascinating story so well. He has captured the time, and he has been very fair in his treatment of Carter, and has not judged him to harshly, considering what Carter had to endure post the discovery.

Winstone has also done an excellent job of including some unique photographs, the one I especially find intriguing one that shows the reflection of Evelyn Herbert (Canarvon's daughter) in the glass case that displayed Tutankhamun's burial mask.

The late H F V ( Victor ) Winstone spent over five years researching this book on Howard Carter, a man who everyone has heard of from their schooldays, those sleepy history lessons about the far from hunky Indiana Jones like archaeologist, but of a dullish man, yet someone who was once Old King Tutankhamun's beating heart on earth. It was Carter's persistence that kept his collaborator Lord Carnarvon pouring tens of thousands of pounds into moving mountains of sand and rubble across the arid desert in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. The depth of Winstone's enquiries, his great sense of staying power, knowledge and stark information gathering shows through. I much admire this book's style, the outstanding images and photographs are unsurpassed by any of the other decent Egyptian and Carter scholars- Drs James and Reeves- are two, but even those of the first wave of great picture driven retrospectives of the tomb, begun in 1963, by the Frenchwoman Christine Desroches- Noblecourt. I also praise the vantage point taken by Winstone in his book, since he thought Carter was in a way a lost treasure at the time the idea for the book was kick-started. Winstone thought the absence of a biography on Carter was a hugely missed opportunity at the time of the 1972 Tutankhamun Exhibition, in London's British Museum. But rightly at that great line up of over one million people ( and this included the reviewer, when a law student, aged 19 ) the golden mask of Tutankhamun dwarfed Carter, Carnarvon, and all those caught up in the Mummy's tale. Another later book that put icy cold water on Carter's memory was the shadow that was exposed by the crafty American Curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the late Thomas Hoving in the explosive " Tutankhamun: The Untold Story" which branded Carter and Carnarvon thieves and robbers since it was argued (using persuasive evidence) that they almost certainly secretly entered the tomb and smuggled out several choice items. All that aside, Winstone was born to write Carter's life story. The book, first published in 1991, shines as an example of an author who not only wrote well, but put his own heart and soul into every single project. In 2008, after finishing a read through of this Barzan edition of the book - published in 2006 - with its Appendix on Almina Countess of Carnarvon, a courageous piece of writing, I felt I understood Carter and Almina better. That said, Almina's compilation is far from being a complete story, there are gaping holes in the narrative. for instance Winstone was not prepared to face headon the paternity issue that forms a key element of The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon. Nor was he willing to expose Almina's carnal affairs.

But my misgivings aside about the handling of Almina's story, Winstone felt he had to show restraint, and I was fortunate enough to have Victor Winstone's personal advice, help and kindness shown to me, when some way through my own researches into the biography of Almina I needed a Tutankhamun - Carter- expert. Winstone was generous and swift at responding and also introduced me to a close informant in the Almina story. I hold Victor Winstone's memory as Carter's biographer in great repect and admiration.

Winstone was pleased that this book was revived by Barzan - and as we approach the 90th anniversary of the discovery of the historic Tomb, it is this book that should be made available to schools and public for to glean the very best insight into Carter and his life long pursuit for closure on Old King Tut.