Many people have in the past regarded ancient Egypt as the ‘cradle of civilisation’ and many people still do. The pure majesty of ancient Egyptian architecture is often just too difficult to put into words, and a high percentage of those who have visited them say that the ‘atmosphere of mystery’ at the many temples and pyramids is something that can only be experienced to be fully appreciated …
Since before the dawn of the archæological era it is in Egypt, more than any other area of the world, that conspiracy theorists and armchair Egyptologists equally find their ultimate focus – ‘secret tunnels and chambers’ which hold the supposed lost treasures of Atlantis, ‘mystery religions’ that are supposed to survive to this day as ancient ‘secret societies’, and ‘sacred geometries’ which consume researchers for whole lifetimes are all part of the ‘air of mystique’ that is Ancient Egypt …
Egyptian chronologies seem to be constantly under review, and ‘Tutankhamun’, ‘Akhenaten’, ‘Khufu’, ‘Khafre’ and ‘Cleopatra’ are just some of the names of the ancient rulers of Egypt that have become household names all over the world in the past century or so. Napoleon was facinated by it, and since his time many hundreds of explorers, many thousands of professors and students, and many millions of tourists, have examined, excavated, measured, photographed and experienced the many wondrous ruins of what must rank as one of the most mysterious places on our planet …
‘How old is the Great Sphinx?’ is a question that many ask, and ‘Why is no-one buried in the Great Pyramid?’ is another question that raises almost more questions than the myriad answers which find their way into print each year. No-one can deny that the ancient remains in this facinating country fire the imagination of millions of people worldwide – yet ‘there is still something missing’ …
Below, and over the next few pages, are a selection of books we have chosen because they reflect the many differing views, theories, and what some feel are simply whacky ideas about this amazing country whose true history we are no nearer to discovering today than was Napoleon in his day …
All comments are editorial and customer reviews posted on the Amazon.com
& Amazon.co.uk
websites …
“Is it a mere coincidence that pyramids are found across our globe? Did cultures ranging across vast spaces in geography and time, such as the ancient Egyptians; early Buddhists; the Maya, Inca, Toltec, and Aztec civilizations of the Americas; the Celts of the British Isles; and even the Mississippi Indians of pre-Columbian Illinois, simply dream the same dreams and envision the same structures?
Scientist and tenured university professor Robert M. Schoch-one of the world’s preeminent geologists in recasting the date of the Great Sphinx-believes otherwise. In this dramatic and meticulously reasoned book, Schoch, like anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl in his classic Kon-Tiki, argues that ancient cultures traveled great distances by sea. Indeed, he believes that primeval sailors traveled from the Eastern continent, primarily Southeast Asia, and spread the idea of pyramids across the Earth, involving the human species in a far greater degree of contact and exchange than experts have previously thought possible.
“Voyages of the Pyramid Builders” features sixteen pages of color photos and a special appendix, “Redating the Great Sphinx of Giza,”in which Schoch provides his most up-to-date evidence of the Sphinx’s older origins”
simply click on the book covers to order those titles directly from Amazon.com, or click on the UK edition link to order directly from Amazon.co.uk.
Some titles may not be available in both editions …
“The Serpent in the Sky: The High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt”
“John Anthony West has done the world an enormous service with this bold, brilliance, beautifully written and thoroughly engaging book. He extends the work of Alsation philospher and mathematician, R.A, Schwaller de Lubicz, making it not only comprehensible to the lay reader, but the only plausible explanation for the grandeur and magnificance of ancient Egyptian culture. West is anything but a New Age flake, and he takes some fairly tough-minded positions on the absurdities of modern scholarship.”
“The Orion Mystery: Unlocking the Secrets of the Pyramids”
by
Robert Bauval, Adrian Gilbert (Contributor) & Peter Ginna (Editor)
“This fascinating archaeological detective story argues that the great pyramids of Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty (c. 26002400 b.c.) were vast astronomically sophisticated temples, rather than the pharaonic tombs depicted by conventional Egyptology. In March 1993, a tiny remote-controlled robot created by Rudolf Gantenbrink, a German robotics engineer, traveled up airshafts within the Great Pyramid of Giza and relayed to scientists video pictures of a hitherto unknown sealed door within the pyramid. Bauval, a British engineer and writer who has been investigating the pyramids for more than ten years, and Gilbert, a British publishing consultant, use Gantenbrink’s tantalizing discovery as a launching pad for an extended analysis of the purpose of the mysterious airshafts, which lead from the Great Pyramid’s chambers to its exterior, and of the placement of other Fourth Dynasty pyramids.”
“The Temple in Man: Ancient Egyptian Sacred Architecture and the Perfect Man”
by
R. A. Schwaller De Lubicz, Robert Lawlor (Translator) & Deborah Lawlor (Translator)
“R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz (1887–1961) was one of the most important philosophers, mathematicians, and Egyptologists of this century. His elucidation of the temple at Luxor and his presentation of the Egyptian understanding of a special quality of innate consciousness form a bridge that links the sacred science of the Ancients to its rediscovery in our own time. This book contains the first published results of Schwaller’s 12 years of research at the temple of Luxor and its implications for interpreting the symbolic and mathematical processes of the Egyptians through their sacred architecture.”
“The Traveler’s Key to Ancient Egypt: A Guide to the Sacred Places of Ancient Egypt”byJohn Anthony West
“Now in a updated and expanded new edition, John West’s The Traveler’s Key To Ancient Egypt continues to be the definitive guide to all of the sacred places of ancient Egypt. The ideal traveler’s guidebook is enhanced with maps, diagrams, and photos to accompany the history and spiritual significance of Egypt’s art, architecture, mythology, religion, and ritual practices. From the Pyramids of Giza to the Valley of the Kings, this traveler’s guide reveals the hidden meaning of monuments, ancient city sites, as well as new research on the dating of the Sphinx. If you are planning a trip to the Land of the Pharaohs, beginning with a thorough perusal of John West’s The Traveler’s Key To Ancient Egypt!”
“The Stargate Conspiracy: Revealing the Truth Behind Extraterrestrial Contact, Military Intelligence and the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt”by Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince
“The Stargate Conspiracy on occassion makes you wonder whether they are really onto something or are just reading too much into things. But by the end, you realize that somehow everything does fit, and that the authors are onto something… It’s one of those books of which I’m sure lots of people will crawl out of the woodwork from, and realize that what’s been happening, is indeed just that: the creation of a new religion by people out for power. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the entire book is how the “conspiracy” can sometimes be completely fear-inspiring, and at other times, just a complete mess… which is unlike the novel-like, fiction conspiracies from TVs… This is a real thing and I hope to see a sequel soon … ”
“Historical Deception: the Untold Story of Ancient Egypt”
“If you are looking for a truthful description of Ancient Egypt, this is a good place to start. Mr. Gadalla offers a very reader-friendly glimpse into the aspects of Ancient Egyptian society and the many contributions they have made throughout the world. Furthermore, he is attempting to dispell our preconceived — and often misled — notions surrounding Ancient Egypt. He also sheds a great deal of light onto the interrelated issues between Egypt and the early years of Judaism and Christianity. This is done in a forthright manner, but it is neither condescending or an attack against these religious faiths.”
“The Temples of Karnak: A Contribution to the Study of Pharaonic Thought” byR.A. Schwaller de Lubicz, Georges de Mire (Photographer), Valentine de Mire (Photographer), Andre Vandenbroeck (Translator)
“The Temples of Karnak primarily contains a photographic review of the Karnak site(s). It has a short bit in the beginning giving a very general background on heiroglyphs, Egyptian Gods, traditions in different regions of Egypt, etc… but the photographs of Karnak’s temples make up the vast bulk of it. The end of the book contains an appendix with a short commentary on each of the plates (around 700 of them; all in black & white). Also, measurements of columns, walls, etc… are given in the appendix along with some overhead-perspective ink-drawings showing the general layouts of the temples. De Lubicz gives a thoroughly comprehensive photographic catologue of (what I assume must be) every piece of architecture and sculpture at Karnak.”
“The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day”
byRaymond Faulkner (Translator), Ogden Goelet (Introduction) & Carol Andrews (Preface)
“For millennia, the culture and philosophy of the ancient Egyptians have fascinated artists, historians, and spiritual seekers throughout the world. Now, this reissue of a Chronicle Books classic brings to light once more the legendary 3,500-year-old Papyrus of Ani–the most beautiful of the Egyptian funerary scrolls ever discovered. Restored to its original sequences, the elaborately bordered papyrus conveys its intended sense of motion and meaning in a way no other book on the subject can match. From mysticism and philosophy to anthropology and astronomy, this sumptuous volume will appeal to casual readers, serious scholars, and the generally inquisitive mind.”
“The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt” (Oxford Illustrated History) byIan Shaw (Editor)
“This work provides detailed historical coverage of Egypt from the early Stone Age to its incorporation into the Roman Empire. The essays and illustrations portray the emergence and development of the distinctive civilization of the ancient Egyptians covering the period from 700,000 BC to AD 311. The authors – each working at the cutting edge of their particular fields – outline the principal sequence of political events, including detailed examinations of the three “Intermediate Periods” previously regarded as “dark ages”. Against the backdrop of the rise and fall of ruling dynasties, this book also examines cultural and social patterns, including stylistic developments in art and literature. It shows that the pace of change in such aspects of Egyptian culture as monumental architecture, funerary beliefs, and ethnicity was not necessarily tied to the rate of political change.”
“Granted the evidence presented by this book is by no means conclusive, I’ve got to say that if more history books were written with this much verve, fewer kids would graduate school convinced that “history is boring.” Brier loves what he does, and he’s very well-read in it, and it shows. You get a real feel for the political intrigue of the time right after the heresies of Amarna, and he presents the information in such a way that you never forget that there are actually human personalities associated with these events. The book does a great job getting across the flavor of life in that time, and certainly it does convince me at least that something fishy was going on at the end of Tut’s reign.”
