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Rating: 
Summary: A vital piece of Egyptology
Review: I bought this as a gift for my wife but on flicking through it myself have found it stirred a mixture of curiosity and wonder. It is primarily a book with plates of the Temple at Karnak, but it has a good opening section on the history of the area, a nice outlay on each of the royal cartouches and, after the plates themselves, a interesting commentary.
The book is not intended as a discussion on Karnak. It is the culmination of several years hard work photographing and documenting the temple. As a primary source it is already invaluable, for to have such a feast of photographs in one book is rare.
Any Egpytologist or student of the area must possess this book because the Temple of Karnak is there in all its glory to look at. If it had some color plates then so much the better but that is hardly a detraction on an immensely fine piece of work.
Rating:
Summary: extensive catalogue
Review: 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. He offers the material in this book as RAW DATA for interpretation and reference by the more paranoid who enjoy this kind of stuff. It may interest one to learn that De Lubicz writes little to nothing directly adressing his own philosophies and performs very little analysis about anything at all. Readers are left to interpret what they will about this little photographic world (so, said reader might benefit from knowing about Schwaller's neuroses beforehand!...). As a photographic catalogue of Karnak's temples with its appended data, this book fulfills its purpose very thoroughly, so; 5 stars. A very legitimate, thorough, and objective piece of egyptological data-collection from an author who does not always recieve recognition from mainstream archaeology due to his more eccentric views. One should note the subtitle; "A Contribution to the Study of Pharaonic Thought"
Rating:
Summary: extensive catalogue
Review: 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. He offers the material in this book as RAW DATA for interpretation and reference by the more paranoid who enjoy this kind of stuff. It may interest one to learn that De Lubicz writes little to nothing directly adressing his own philosophies and performs very little analysis about anything at all. Readers are left to interpret what they will about this little photographic world (so, said reader might benefit from knowing about Schwaller's neuroses beforehand!...). As a photographic catalogue of Karnak's temples with its appended data, this book fulfills its purpose very thoroughly, so; 5 stars. A very legitimate, thorough, and objective piece of egyptological data-collection from an author who does not always recieve recognition from mainstream archaeology due to his more eccentric views. One should note the subtitle; "A Contribution to the Study of Pharaonic Thought"
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Record of an Essential Site
Review: This beautifully boxed, printed and bound hardcover is the finest record of the reliefs and monuments of Karnak that I've encountered. In main, this book consists of over 450 excellent, clear and detailed, black and white photographs, one to each oversized page. A brief introductory text provides the reader with some historical and overview information to prepare him/her for the photos. The photos are followed by fairly lengthy notes describing each photo individually, which is a wonderful addition that adds tremendous insight and understanding to the knowledge and enjoyment to be derived from the wonderful camerawork.I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in ancient Egypt that goes beyond the casual.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Record of an Essential Site
Review: This beautifully boxed, printed and bound hardcover is the finest record of the reliefs and monuments of Karnak that I've encountered. In main, this book consists of over 450 excellent, clear and detailed, black and white photographs, one to each oversized page. A brief introductory text provides the reader with some historical and overview information to prepare him/her for the photos. The photos are followed by fairly lengthy notes describing each photo individually, which is a wonderful addition that adds tremendous insight and understanding to the knowledge and enjoyment to be derived from the wonderful camerawork. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in ancient Egypt that goes beyond the casual.
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