[.ca] Valley of the Kings (ISBN 8880957120)

Weeks does more damage than good:
Weeks' excavation techniques are totally atrocious. He has caused a great deal of damage to be done in the Valley of the Kings by allowing expanded limestone, painted walls to contract too rapidly, thus making the walls and roofs collapse and crack. It is hard to believe that for someone so interested in this area that he would totally ignore conservation aspects. Please don't buy this book and know that you are saving a treasure! Look for "THE COMPLETE VALLEY OF THE KINGS" by Reeves and Wilkinson for a better read anyway.

Took my breath away!:
Having read Kent Week's book "The Lost Tomb" I was impressed with his accessable writing style. So, seeing this book was like waving a red flag at a bull. I have been to many of the sights featured in this book and could not afford to visit all. To my joy, on opening this volume and seeing the quality of the photographs I realised now that I could! It is the next best thing to actually BEING tere and in some cases .. better! I know that sounds odd ... but in reality a lot of the KV paintings are covered with glass to prevent damage ... or you are not allowed to take a camera in ... even if you can, you may not use flash. So your own pictures always fall short. THIS is professionally lit, photographed and documented ... with great care taken to render the Theabian west bank in all it's glory. Bravo!

Quality:
This is the sort of book you are proud to have in your collection. Everything from the binding to the pictures to the heavy paper and foldout photographs reeks of quality. It's a tome (note the weighty size). Content is readable and enlightening, and the photographs are wonderful. A shame that so many of the tombs are not covered (perhaps, having been there, I wished that the ones I had seen were all included). I don't know if I've ever sought out books from a particular publisher before, but this book sent me on that quest, and I highly recommend it.

Buried:
This is the best book on the Valley of the Kings. I own John Romer's and Nicholas Reeves books,which I highly recommend,but this one I like best. This is a must own book if you love the tombs. It won't let you down. Well worth the money. Buy it before it goes out of print.

A Treasure:
I had looked forward with great anticipation to the arrival of this book - and I am not at all disappointed. In the past few years a few books have been published which have delighted my eyes, Tutankhamun, by T.G.H. James, and Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and now the present work. They share in common the photographer - Araldo De Luca. De Luca is a consumate artist of light. Throughout this book you will see exquisite shots, described and formed by the light of Egypt - Medinet Habu at dawn, The Temples of Hatshepsut and Mentuhotep, from the air in the dawn light, at the precise moment that the entire Valley of the Kings lies in shadows between golden cliffs behind. There are more - photographs of objects and buildings that I have never seen, or at least not so clearly. De Luca has found the perfect vantage point for every shot, it seems, and has waited for the light to lift the ordinary into statement, explanation rather than simple recording. Sprinkled through the various essays - and each essay written by a distinguished expert in their field - are delightful drawings, diagrams and maps. We have sumptuous renderings of the interior of Tutankhamon's tomb, which are not so uncommon, but this volume goes on to show us drawings of the interior of Nefertari's tomb, and there's more! The tombs of the Nobles are pictured with the same fine sensitivity as well as the mortuary temples of the west bank. The essays take a back seat, at first glance, so truly wonderful are the photographs, but here you will find rich descriptions and explanations of the monuments and the objects found within them. Kent Weeks is the general editor; there is an introduction by Her Excellency Mrs. Suzanne Mubarek; Rita Freed, Melinda K. Hartwig, Erik Hornung, Christian Leblanc ... the list of eminent persons goes on. Congratulations to the publishers, Friedman/Fairfax, and to all those who produced this wonderful book, from type-setters to press persons. This is a treasure! Thank you! L.P.H.!!