The Book of the Dead

Rating:
Summary: Book of the Dead-Giovanni Callanta (Chicago)
Review: Being an archaeologist, I know better than to claim that there is such a thing as a wrong or right inference. They are all just interpretations of available information that can be translated differently by another person (I believe this is why Budge included the original text--in order to give the reader a chance to make hs own inferences). The best way to judge an interpretation based on artifacts and proveniences is by the background and experience of the academic doing the translation. Being a celebrated Egyptologist for such a long period of time ought to count for something. I know I wouldn't disparage a fellow Archy based on the words of a fictional man from a movie that claimed pyramids were built by aliens.

Rating:
Summary: Cryers Beware!!!
Review: I don't need to be anonymous, scared or ignorant of the "FACT" that Budge did not translate this wonderful papyrus for the general public to be eaten "WHOLE"; he is no different than Falkner and others who spent their personal time to translate what they thought about what it was saying for the minds of the above named individuals!!!

It is up to you to make a translation for yourself!!! Anybody's translation is just that--A TRANSLATION! Do you reviewer's NOT have the ability to learn the language and translate for you own personal archives??? I do and I have translated it for my own personal archives, however, it is not a permanent translation because the mind is ever far-reaching because it is not limited--unlike some of the reviewers comments that I've read here concerning this man. The same can and is said(by me atleast)about Falkner and others who attempt to make "MONEY" on a so-called "RIGHT, CORRECT and AUTHORIZED VERSION (TRANSLATION)" of the papyrus!!!

So, then, stop crying and be happy that at least Budge gave his work with "HIEROGLYPHS"--unlike other so-called "Authorities" on this African nation!!!

Sincerely yours,
Someone who thinks for HIMSELF!!!

Rating:
Summary: Cryers Beware!!!
Review: I don't need to be anonymous, scared or ignorant of the "FACT" that Budge did not translate this wonderful papyrus for the general public to be eaten "WHOLE"; he is no different than Falkner and others who spent their personal time to translate what they thought about what it was saying for the minds of the above named individuals!!!

It is up to you to make a translation for yourself!!! Anybody's translation is just that--A TRANSLATION! Do you reviewer's NOT have the ability to learn the language and translate for you own personal archives??? I do and I have translated it for my own personal archives, however, it is not a permanent translation because the mind is ever far-reaching because it is not limited--unlike some of the reviewers comments that I've read here concerning this man. The same can and is said(by me atleast)about Falkner and others who attempt to make "MONEY" on a so-called "RIGHT, CORRECT and AUTHORIZED VERSION (TRANSLATION)" of the papyrus!!!

So, then, stop crying and be happy that at least Budge gave his work with "HIEROGLYPHS"--unlike other so-called "Authorities" on this African nation!!!

Sincerely yours,
Someone who thinks for HIMSELF!!!

Rating:
Summary: Good translation of ancient Egypt holy/burial texts
Review: If you are interested in ancient religions, this is an interesting book. Otherwise it should be left alone. This book requires plenty of time to understand what it is all about, along with lots of research so that one might understand the basics of Egyptian religion. This is not light reading.

Rating:
Summary: At least the price is right...
Review: It's a given that serious egyptologists will roll their eyes at anything by Budge (there's a great moment at the beginning of the film "Stargate" where James Spader's character makes a quip about Budge's books).

However, if you are interested in 19th-century occultists (Blavatsky, Crowley, etc) then you probably should have this translation on your shelf next to a more modern one, because Budge is a primary source of their ideas about Egyptian gods and religion (which are interesting in their own right, though not historically accurate or scholarly). And again, at least Budge's stuff is widely and inexpensively available in Dover paperback editions....

Rating:
Summary: Erroneous, at best
Review: Mr. Budge's ineptitude is a well-known shame; his translations (dare I call them that?!?) are notoriously inaccurate and full of blunders. In fact, most of his texts were regarded even in his day as outdated and flawed. Please, there are too many other splendid translations (I recommend Dr. Faulkner Raymond's "The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day" or Normandi Ellis' "Awakening Osiris : The Egyptian Book of the Dead" - both are gorgeous) available to justify wasting one's money on such a compilation of solecisms as this.

[Disclaimer: no defamation of character is intended. That has already been accomplished by Mr. Budge himself. Anyone familiar with Budge's work is already aware of his incompetence.]

Rating:
Summary: A "Must Have"!
Review: This book was translated by the late Sir Ernest A. Wallis Budge, (aka E. A. Wallis Budge) from ancient hieroglyphic papyri, and is a classic in the field of Egyptology and a "must have" in the library's of those interested in ancient Egyptian Spirituality.

In this book you will find both the hieroglyphs as well as Sir Budge's translations.

Here is a short excerpt:
"Permit thou not me to be judged according to the mouths of
"the multitude. May my soul lift itself up before [Osiris], having
"been found to have been pure when on earth. May I come into "thy presence, O Lord of the gods; may I arrive at the Nome of "Maati (Truth)...."
(from the Turin Papyrus)

Sir Wallis Budge was the "Keeper of the Egyptian and Syrian Antiquities in the British Museum" in the late 1800's and early 1900's, and was a prolific translator of ancient Egyptian Spiritual papyri.

While some modern Egyptologists have found minor mistakes in Sir Wallis Budge's translations; his earnestness and sincerity can not be denied.
This is a "must have" book!

Rating:
Summary: Erroneous, at best
Review: This book was wonderful. It was a bit hard to understand so I would recommend that a experianced student of the Ancient Egyptian culture buy it.