Akhenaten+the Religion of Light Book

"For the first time in history, an attempt was made to explain the entire natural and human world on the basis of a SINGLE principle. Like Einstein, Ahkenaten made light the absolute reference point, and it is astonishing how clearly and consistently he pursued this concept in the 14th century B.C.E., making him in fact the first MODERN human being." (p. 125)
Akhenaten's revolutionary change from polytheism to monotheistic belief in only one god helped unify Egypt.
The subjective controversy that plagues the history of Akhenaten is an anticipative backlash from exoheretics to the academic practice of historiography. When emotional superfluous definitions to the meaning of heresy are discarded, it becomes obvious (for the right reasons) that Akhenaten was indeed a heretic. As a dissenter from orthodox religious beliefs, he was, by definition, a "heretic king".
Hornung's book delves into Akhenaten's radical dissent from Egypt's traditional polytheism, and his establishment of the world's first instance of monotheism. The belief was in Aten, whom many mistakenly believe was depicted by the solar disk. This book makes it clear that Aten was actually not the sun disk, but rather the LIGHT that is in the sun and which, radiating from it, calls the world to life and keeps it alive. It was no more or less an icon than Judaism's Star of David, or Christianity's Cross of Jesus, or Islam's calligraphic symbol. Early text of a boundary stelae reads, "sculptors do not know him."
The parallels Hornung draws between today's 3 major monotheistic religions and Akhenaten's precedent are many and presented in clear detail. But the author is careful to emphasize that the temporal interval is too great to infer a DIRECT influence from the Amarna Period on the monotheism of the Hebrew Bible over half a millennium later.
Hornung's book is full of interesting details, such as Egypt's use of swine for street-side waste removal, the use of a bread and beer barter system pre-dating coinage, descriptions of Amarna-Period home construction techniques for efficient indoor climate control, the first-time use of the Hyksos-introduced war chariot for peacetime transportation by the Pharoah, the emergence of a new expressionistic art form in place of traditional static deptictions, the rise of new forms of architecture, the increased use of flower offerings in place of animal sacrifices, the meaning and mutation of Akehnaten's name, and much more.
In regard to the new impressionistic art form of the Amarna Period, Hornung points out that Akhenaten's supposed "sickly" depiction in sculpture and painting, with his feminine hips, pot belly, swollen lips and chin, receding forehead, elongated neck and crown can be understood by comp0aring it with schools of modern art that deal freely with the human form. In his sub-chapter on "The Grotesque Pharoah", Hornung eloquently dispels emotional assumptions that the Pharoah had a "sick ugliness and nervous decadence" about him. Akhenaten's supposed "repulsive ugliness" is a result of opinion towards a new impressionistic art form and not a logical analysis of the Pharaoh himself. Hornung explains the motive behind this new art form and the rules that define it.
Hornung concludes his book with an analyses of why monotheism failed to catch on after Akhenaten's death. Among them, the radical departure his new religion had with comfortable traditional beliefs of the afterlife, the fact he left no male heir to the throne, and the iconoclasm which in the mind of Egyptians in particular cases meant their own consignment to oblivion, and other things to name a few. Though Akhenaten's monotheism lingered on into Tutankamun's 3rd regnal year, it was simply too radical a departure from the norm given the period's socioeconomic status. In this sense, it was a religion ahead of its time.
My only point of contention with this book is the brief chapter titled, "Dark Years". It is a chapter that deals with Akhenaten's relationship with the mysterious Kiya, the supposed disappearance of Nefertiti, the Dakhamanzu affair, and Akhenaten's marriage to his older daughters to elevate their status in lieu of no male heir to his throne. Though the author clearly focuses on Akhenaten's religion of light, I would have enjoyed reading more into Akhenaten's personal life in these mysterious later years: in context and without slant as other authors have done. But given the author's expressed intent and the title of the book, the lack of this additional information does not degrade the quality of this book as a positive contribution to Egyptian historiography.