 | | |
| The Rosetta Stone and the Rebirth of Ancient Egypt (Wonders of the World) | 
 enlarge | Author: John Ray
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $11.00
You Save: $8.95 (45%)
Buy New/Used from $11.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  (3 reviews)
Sales Rank: 465393
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 0674024931
Dewey Decimal Number: 493.1
EAN: 9780674024939
ASIN: 0674024931
Publication Date: July 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Read the Bldg Blog interview with Mary Beard about the Wonders of the World series (Part I and Part II) The Rosetta Stone is one of the world's great wonders, attracting awed pilgrims by the tens of thousands each year. This book tells the Stone's story, from its discovery by Napoleon's expedition to Egypt to its current--and controversial-- status as the single most visited object on display in the British Museum. A pharaoh's forgotten decree, cut in granite in three scripts--Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian demotic, and ancient Greek--the Rosetta Stone promised to unlock the door to the language of ancient Egypt and its 3,000 years of civilization, if only it could be deciphered. Capturing the drama of the race to decode this key to the ancient past, John Ray traces the paths pursued by the British polymath Thomas Young and Jean-Francois Champollion, the "father of Egyptology" ultimately credited with deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs. He shows how Champollion "broke the code" and explains more generally how such deciphering is done, as well as its critical role in the history of Egyptology. Concluding with a chapter on the political and cultural controversy surrounding the Stone, the book also includes an appendix with a full translation of the Stone's text. Rich in anecdote and curious lore, The Rosetta Stone and the Rebirth of Ancient Egypt is a brilliant and frequently amusing guide to one of history's great mysteries and marvels. (20070203)
|
| Customer Reviews:
Good Lay-level History December 13, 2008
Engaging story of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, the battles for possession, the efforts to decode it, and the rebirth of Egyptian history that followed. It's a story full of interesting characters and plot twists. As a linguist, I might have enjoyed more detail on the actual decoding, but it was a delightful read.
The Key To Understanding A Lost Culture September 12, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The story of the Rosetta Stone's role in recovering the splendor of Pharaonic Egypt in its own words is generally well known, at least in outline. This delightful book by an eminent expert in the field provides a very readable wealth of context and detail, from the Stone's original purpose and creation, to its current repository at the British Museum. The accidental discovery of the stone by Napoleon's troops is highlighted by the struggle for the Stone's possession. The decipherment story is very much like a mystery novel, with large egos and intense competition among the international contenders. The author makes clear that Champollion certainly was the clear winner. The challenge has aspects that reach into the nature of human intelligence and communication, and while others may provide pieces and hints without complete explanations, the `aha' moment of insight is singularly personal. This is something the author has direct knowledge of in his solution of the unreadable Carian script that also had a home in Egypt. Although a small book, the nine chapters are complemented by the Stone's text, along with an extensive reading list for those wanting more specific details over a wide range of topics and references.
Absolutely Fascinating June 21, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I knew little about the Rosetta Stone other than what I had learned in school many years ago. Every schoolchild learns that the Rosetta Stone, found in 1799 along the Nile delta, had the same text in three different languages -- Egyptian hieroglyphics, Egyptian demotic (the language of the people), and Greek -- that allowed scholars to, for the first time, decipher Egyptian hierglyphics, thus making it possible to read all the already-found (and subsequently-found) hieroglyphic texts that up to that time had simply not been decipherable. This made possible, really, the study of ancient Egypt as never before, and indeed the whole field of Egyptology. John Ray, professor of Egyptology at Cambridge, writes a fascinating history of the Stone, its discovery, early attempts at deciphering it, the partial success of Thomas Young and the final decipherment by Jean-Francois Champollion. He also gives a history of Greek occupation of Egypt leading up to the creation of the Rosetta Stone in 196 BC early in the reign of Ptolemy V. And he addresses the question of who really owns these treasures of antiquity such as the Stone, the Elgin Marbles and so on. He also gives his own translation of the actual Rosetta Stone text.
Part of what makes this book so compulsively readable is Ray's dry sense of humor. He sneaks in wry comments in the most unexpected places and I found myself chuckling frequently. The book, intended for the general reader, is never guilty of talking down and for that one can be thankful.
Recommended.
Scott Morrison
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| | |