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Amazon.co.uk Review
Jean-François Champollion's biography is neatly interwoven with Napoleonic history and the functions of Egyptian hieroglyphs in The Keys of Egypt. A gifted bookseller's son born in Revolutionary France, Champollion was to become "gripped by energetic enthusiasm" for Egypt. By the age of 12, he was studying several ancient languages and amid a "wave of Egyptomania", he would beat rivals to discover the key to deciphering hieroglyphs. If this was a race, it was a marathon. The breakthrough came after "20 years of obsessive hard work", not through the quick fix solution often thought to have been provided by the Rosetta Stone. The Keys of Egypt details Champollion's life and work, which was hampered by politics, poverty and an almost hypochondriacal series of health problems. Its sources include letters and journals, the authors having undertaken researches in major libraries and museums. Chapters on Champollion's travels in Italy and Egypt include a good smattering of excerpts from his writings. Although no bibliography is given, there is a helpful passage on various levels of further reading. Highly instructive and fast-paced, The Keys of Egypt is perhaps less dramatic than it might be in portraying troubled times and ground-breaking discovery. It is, however, a clearly expressed and wide-ranging book explaining the complexity of hieroglyphic interpretation and revealing the man whose achievements "meant the discovery of a whole new civilization". --Karen Tiley
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Simon Singh in the Sunday Telegraph, August 27th, 2000
The story behind the decipherment, as told by Lesley and Roy Adkins, is a ripping tale of obsession and rivalry... The Adkins duo succeed in providing a fascinating and elegantly written biography of Champollion, doing justice to one of the great stories of academic heroism
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
gripping subject slightly flawed,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Keys of Egypt: The Race to Read the Hieroglyphs (Paperback)
For anyone who has heard about Champollion and decipherment of hieroglyphics this is a good combination of biog and description of the process. The image of the millennial, untouched antiquities of Egypt suddenly disturbed from 1798 on stays with you quite painfully. The negative 2-star review was probably written by a descendant of Young! The main problem I have with this book is the constant harking on about Champollion's illnesses, but more crucially the lack of space devoted to the process by which C. went from reading name cartouches to actually deciphering the language's nuts and bolts... But the subject matter is compelling in the extreme, and the romantic but bitchy background of Revolutionary and post-Rev. French academics adds some nice colour.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A ripping Tale,
By
This review is from: The Keys of Egypt: The Race to Read the Hieroglyphs (Paperback)
The Adkins' are well known authors in the field of Archaeology,and have always been able to turn what can be a dry and dusty subject(pun intended), into something which can fascinate and draw the reader in. The tale of the race to read the ancient hieroglyphics is set in a time period of european-wide revolt. Knowing that the results of his own work could go against his very faith, and the beliefs and work of his friends and colleagues, he Battles against what to you or I would be insurmountable obstacles of the body as well as the mind. This amazing tale takes you through a hostile and primitive egpyt, to the underbelly of Napoleonic France and back again into the elite circles of France's Bourgoisie. The book has a brilliant narrative style, and never dwells too long on any one subject, but gives you enough to allow you to follow their trains of thought. Simply one of the most gripping, and well-told stories I have ever read. You do not need to know anything about archaeology, or history. You don't even need to be massively interested in either to appreciate what is probably one of the most amazing tales of coincidence, treachery, rivalry,human madness and greed.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for the lover of Old Egypt and History,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Keys of Egypt: The Obsession to Decipher Egyptian Hieroglyphs (Hardcover)
I enjoyed this book -which I would define as a biography both of Champollion and of the hieroglyphic writing decipherment- very much. First of all it defines perfectly the historical and political context in which the discoveries were done. The description of the Napoleon expedition to Egypt is among the best I have ever read. The life of Champollion, the main subject of the book, is very well narrated and put into its context within the history of France, from the Revolution to Louis Philip. The description of the hieroglyphic writing decipherment is painted with a master stroke permitting the reader believe he has acquired some knowledge of the language and the problems of its reading presents. Further insight is provided when it lists different readings of the same name and the causes of this fact.
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