Wonderful Things
A History of Egyptology 1: From Antiquity to 1881
Published on 19. April 2015
Book
Hardback
376 pages
978-977-416-599-3 (ISBN)
Description
The discovery of ancient Egypt and the development of Egyptology are momentous events in intellectual and cultural history. The history of Egyptology is the story of the people, famous and obscure, who constructed the picture of ancient Egypt that we have today, recovered the Egyptian past while inventing it anew, and made a lost civilization comprehensible to generations of enchanted readers and viewers thousands of years later. This, the first of a three-volume survey of the history of Egyptology, follows the fascination with ancient Egypt from antiquity until 1881, tracing the recovery of ancient Egypt and its impact on the human imagination in a saga filled with intriguing mysteries, great discoveries, and scholarly creativity. Wonderful Things affirms that the history of ancient Egypt has proved continually fascinating, but it also demonstrates that the history of Egyptology is no less so. Only by understanding how Egyptology has developed can we truly understand the Egyptian past.
Reviews / Votes
"Thompson offers a well written, informed, and at times exciting account of the exceptional accomplishments of the individuals and institutions that pioneered the field of Egyptology. Jaromir Malek's informed foreword offers a critical context for unfolding the Egyptological undertaking."-Choice"Wonderful Things is a remarkable achievement: a scholarly work packed with facts but one which is also genuinely readable. It is ambitious in its scope and detail. To follow the growth of an arcane but also a highly romantic branch of learning becomes in Thompson's book something close to an adventure. The author successfully conveys his infectious enthusiasm for the subject but writes with a degree of detachment that allows him to be refreshingly and occasionally almost ruthlessly trenchant and critical."- Jaromir Malek, from the foreword
"An incisive anatomy of a discipline that challenges our all too familiar assumptions about how Egyptology came to be."- Stephanie Moser
"A comprehensive history of Egyptology... All the great figures and landmarks are there, and many lesser ones as well. Both scholars and general readers will eagerly anticipate the second and third volumes."- Donald M. Reid
"The definitive reference tool for anyone interested in the development of this academic discipline. "- Morris Bierbrier
"Jason Thompson has written what is by far the best history of Egyptology yet. Filled with fascinating facts and characters, Thompson's book is comprehensive and eminently readable and certain to become the standard history of the field for many years to come."- Kent Weeks
"At last a definitive history, which does justice not only to the major players but to lesser lights as well...immensely valuable."- Brian Fagan, author of The Rape of the Nile
"Remarkably thorough and yet refreshingly readable, this action-packed history of Egyptology is driven by some extraordinary characters-mostly men but some notable women-who needed to learn everything they could about the culture, land, and language of ancient Egypt. As much a study of European colonialism in Egypt as a historiography of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century scholarship, this volume is an absolute necessity for anybody with an interest in pharaonic Egypt."- Kara Cooney
"Wonderful Things is not only a definitive study of the early history of Egyptology, but an entrancing read. . . He wears his scholarship lightly, which makes this beautifully crafted book a joy for the general reader."- Current World Archaeology
"By any standards, this book is a remarkable achievement."- Antiquity
"It's not often that I find a book in which I can confidently state that I found something interesting on nearly every page. And as one who likes to consider himself an historian of archaeology, I learned much. Anyone with a serious interest in Egyptology surely will benefit from reading Wonderful Things." - Donald P. Ryan, KMT
"A book that the Egyptological world and, surely, the world at large was waiting for for a long time. It fills a gap that was getting bigger as time passed by."- Andre J. Veldmeijer, PalArch
"A comprehensive and thoroughly-researched work, in which a huge quantity of data has been synthesized and expounded. . . . The book is a mine of information and succeeds in being both authoritative and highly readable."- John H. Taylor, ASTENE Bulletin
"Wonderful Things deserves to become the essential resource for decades to come."- Rosalind Janssen, Egyptian Archaeology
"While Wonderful Things would be an entertaining and informative read for any interested person, it should be considered essential reading for every Egyptologist and aspiring Egyptologist."- Melinda Nelson-Hurst, JARCE
"An essential and very worthy addition to the shelves of every Egyptologist, professional or dedicated amateur."- Peter A. Clayton, Ancient Egypt
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cairo
Egypt
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 230 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
701 gr
ISBN-13
978-977-416-599-3 (9789774165993)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2015
I.B.Tauris
€26.49
Available for download
E-Book
03/2015
I.B.Tauris
€26.49
Available for download
Person
Jason Thompson is currently a visiting associate professor at Bates College. He is the editor of Edward William Lane's Description of Egypt (AUC Press, 2000) and An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (AUC Press, 2003), and the author of Sir Gardiner Wilkinson and His Circle, A History of Egypt: From Earliest Times to the Present (AUC Press, 2008), and Edward William Lane, 1801-1876 (AUC Press, 2010).
Content
Introduction
1. Historical Outline
2. Egyptology in Antiquity
3. A Medieval Hiatus
4. Ancient Egypt in the Renaissance and Early Modern Imagination
5. Ancient Egypt in the Age of the Enlightenment
6. The Discovery of Ancient Egypt
7. The Decipherment of the Hieroglyphs
8. Lifting the Veil
9. Egypt Itself
10. Hiatus
11. Consolidation
12. Preservation and Depredation
13. Taking Possession of Egypt for the Cause of Science
14. Mariette's Monopoly
15. Ancient Egypt in Nineteenth-Century Art, Photography, and Literature
16. The Golden Age
17. The Post-Maspero Antiquities Service
18. The Seven Hathors
19. New Horizons
20. Greco-Roman Egypt
21. Loret's Interlude
22. The Return of Maspero
23. Return of Maspero (cont.)
24. The Berlin School
25. Egyptology Comes to America
26. The United States Enters the Field
27. Attention Turns South
28. The Twilight of the Golden Age
1. Historical Outline
2. Egyptology in Antiquity
3. A Medieval Hiatus
4. Ancient Egypt in the Renaissance and Early Modern Imagination
5. Ancient Egypt in the Age of the Enlightenment
6. The Discovery of Ancient Egypt
7. The Decipherment of the Hieroglyphs
8. Lifting the Veil
9. Egypt Itself
10. Hiatus
11. Consolidation
12. Preservation and Depredation
13. Taking Possession of Egypt for the Cause of Science
14. Mariette's Monopoly
15. Ancient Egypt in Nineteenth-Century Art, Photography, and Literature
16. The Golden Age
17. The Post-Maspero Antiquities Service
18. The Seven Hathors
19. New Horizons
20. Greco-Roman Egypt
21. Loret's Interlude
22. The Return of Maspero
23. Return of Maspero (cont.)
24. The Berlin School
25. Egyptology Comes to America
26. The United States Enters the Field
27. Attention Turns South
28. The Twilight of the Golden Age