The Book of the Dead

View other editions of The Book of the Dead.
View books by E A Wallis Budge.

A Pretty Book, but don't be fooled - Rated
I have to admit, as a student of Egyptology i purchased this gorgeous looking book in my first year thinking it to be a safe purchase and good addition to my collection. Sadly i was wrong.
If you are a student of hieroglyphics, it retains some value as all text appears in both translation and original glyph form. However, the translation conventions it uses are extremely outdated, not to mention over complex.
Sadly, as impressive as this may look on your bookshelf or as interesting as it may be to the average enthusiast, those truly interested in The Book Of The Dead should refer to R. Faulkners [...]

Excellent Guide to the Book of the Dead - Rated
This book, originally written in the early 20th century by Budge, is an excellent guide to the Book of the Dead, whether a novice or a professional Egyptologist.
The first few pages of the book have an assortment of images regarding the Book of the Dead, such as images of funeral processions, the judgement of the soul and the reuniting of body and soul. Included are some short descriptions of what the images mean.
The introductory pages not only detail the history of the book itself, but also tell of the discovery of the Papyrus of Ani, how it was first treated, how it varies from tomb to tomb, whose tombs it has been discovered in, how it was written, what it was to the Ancient Egyptians and where in time it may have originated. It does so through complex, descriptive wording as well as footers going into greater depth about key topics. It also contains a list of chapters, their titles and short descriptions.
The translation itself is excellent, with hieroglyphs above the English text. Each passage is numbered so the reader can tell where it comes from in the hieroglyphics, which also makes it a good resource for anyone interested in learning to read hieroglyphs. Alongside the direct translation comes some narration explaining potential meanings and interpretations.
Given the date the book was originally published, one could also argue that it gives an insight into the mind of a 1900s historian.

All in all, an excellent book. It has everything relevant to the subject with which it deals, and is in my opinion the best version you could buy. It is let down only because it is not in colour; just a few colour pages to show the gorgeous colours used in Egyptian art and writing would have made it perfect, but it gains five stars anyway for the hieroglyphic text accompanying the English text throughout the translation.

Ideal for Egyptology students - Rated
I have always found 'the Book of the Dead' intriguing and this version is a good introduction. It is a fairly complex book which requires a second read to properly understand it's content. The first few chapters, particularly the 'Legend of Osiris,' make an interesting read.

The book is probably more for reference than anything else and is good for students wishing to study Egyptology.

Claire Large.