AUTHOR LISTING

From Library Journal: Friedman (curator of ancient art, Museum of Art, Rhode Island Sch. of Design) provides a catalog that expands the Rhode Island School of Design's new traveling exhibit, affording an intimate look at a critical area of Egyptian art. There is little gold to catch the eye and no colossal statues to marvel at in the exhibit, but many of the faience pieces selected are important and most are exquisite. While spectators in exhibit halls must jostle to view each item, the catalog's photographs permit a detailed look, and essays by outstanding scholars in the field provide insight into creation and use. The photographs are exceptionally clear, critical in a book so filled with detail. This is a definitive work in what had been a barren field. Highly recommended for large public and academic libraries.

Reviewed by Francesca: The author is an experienced engineer, who studied the technology of Ancient Egypt in great depth. He is concerned with the discovery of the hidden wisdom of this ancient yet advanced civilization. In this book, he demonstrates how the precise design of the pyramids helps us in future designs. His theories do not please Egyptologists, for, as he himself writes about the iron plate Howard Vyse found in the Great Pyramid: Egyptologists have a vested interest in continuing their teachings as they have taught them for the past century. To do otherwise would be to admit that they have been wrong. The iron plate is just a small, though significant, item in a large collection of anomalies that have been ignored or misinterpreted by many academics because they contradict their orthodox beliefs. This is most definitely a book for open-minded readers.

from Amazon.com: A unique study of the engineering and tools used to create Egyptian monuments, this book presents a stone-by-stone analysis of key Egyptian monuments, including the statues of Ramses II and the tunnels of the Serapeum; it also reveals that highly refined tools and mega-machines were used in ancient Egypt.
From the pyramids in the north to the temples in the south, ancient artisans left their marks all over Egypt, unique marks that reveal craftsmanship we would be hard pressed to duplicate today. Drawing together the results of more than 30 years of research and nine field study journeys to Egypt, Christopher Dunn presents a stunning stone-by-stone analysis of key Egyptian monuments, including the statue of Ramses II at Luxor and the fallen crowns that lay at its feet. His modern-day engineering expertise provides a unique view into the sophisticated technology used to create these famous monuments in prehistoric times.
Using modern digital photography, computer-aided design software, and metrology instruments, Dunn exposes the extreme precision of these monuments and the type of advanced manufacturing expertise necessary to produce them.

From Amazon.com: David Ewing Duncan traces the development of our modern-day calendar and describes how people's experiences are shaped by their conception of time. Duncan postulates that all this concern with time started when a Cro-Magnon man decided to mark off the days of the lunar cycle on an eagle bone. After recounting the slow evolution of the calendar through the centuries, the author laments how time oriented our society has become. [...] The book is organized in chronological order and focuses mainly on the centuries leading up to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar (our modern calendar) by the Catholic Church in 1582. Along the way, Duncan describes the ancient calendars of many cultures all over the globe, from India to Egypt to the Mayan empire. During the Middle Ages, Christian churches discouraged scientific inquiry on the theory that it was wrong to question the nature of God's creation. This severely hampered the refinement of the calendar and the advancement of many academic pursuits. By the 16th century, Europe's calendars were 11 days out of sync with the solar year, which meant Easter was being celebrated on the wrong day. An infusion of knowledge from India and the Middle East helped Europeans get back on track. Duncan profiles the many mathematicians, philosophers, and monks who made organizing time their life's work. This book honors the efforts of those scholars and examines the way politics and religion influenced societal perceptions of time through the ages.

Du site de l'éditeur : La mort, en 1988, du R.P. du Bourguet a laissé à l’Ifao (Institut français d’archéologie orientale) la tâche de terminer l’édition des textes du temple d’époque ptolémaïque de Deir al-Médîna. Les épreuves au plomb avaient été tirées mais n’avaient pu être revues par l’auteur ; les textes hiéroglyphiques eux-mêmes n’avaient pu être contrô lés sur l’original. Ce fut fait lors de deux missions, 1991 et 1992, effectuées par Luc Gabolde, qui, tout en respectant l’esprit dans lequel le R.P. du Bourguet avait conçu sa publication, précisa quelques lectures puis réalisa un important travail d’unification. Les planches au trait, dues à Leïla Menassa, permettent de situer les textes dans leur contexte et de rendre compte de l’état de la paroi. Les planches photos, réalisées par les photographes de l’Ifao et plus particulièrement J.-Fr. Gout, donnent une couverture complète des parois inscrites.

Reviewed by Francesca: This is a long overdue book that is much needed. Donaldson has taken a wonderful lengthy research and made it available to a wide range of readers, in this work. In Part One, he discusses the origins of the Isis and Osiris story, and continues by describing the evolution of Isis as a goddess, mother and protector. Chapters of this section cover vocation, worship and public penance ; Isiac priests and priestesses ; Isiac feasts and events in the ever-changing calendar ; and Isiac temples. In Part Two, he goes on with an explanation of each stage in the Isis Cult, and its evolution as Roman emperors succeeded each other is thoroughly analyzed. From the Late Republic to the Antonine Period, this book examines the development of the Isis cult in depth, covering the reigns of Antony, Cleopatra, Caesar, Augustus, Caligula, Domitian and Commodus.
Donaldson has put a lot of effort in finding the bibliographic material and the text shows this research. Although it does not have many photographs (it only has 6), the book will soon become a reference on the subject of Isis.
I encourage everyone to read this wonderful book. This is a definite must for anyone interested in Ancient Egyptian and/or Graeco-Roman religion.

From Amazon.com: This study of the wolf is primarily that of the wolf of Biblical metaphor and medieval legend, rather than the wolf of reality. Yet, it demonstrates for students and teachers alike how the wolf of reality underwent a long-term "demonization" in western culture, largely as a result of the literary wolf. It accomplishes this, first, through a close investigation of the pertinent passages of the Scriptures and select references in the works of the Church Fathers.