Tutankhamun Book

The illustrations are vibrant and intricate; there's a lot of detail on every page to peruse; I would have loved pouring over the pictures when I was a kid because there's so much to view. I'm not sure I'd find this art stile aesthetically pleasing if the subject had been different, but here it works perfectly. Illustrations of a gorgeous family tree and a map of the area are included toward the back of the book. I found the hunting scenes, especially of the lions, and the battle scenes difficult to view, although their stylized presentation made them not too graphically violent, I suppose.

The information is certainly told in an interesting way. I knew a bit about King Tut because I've seen art exhibits at a San Francisco museum and a World's Fair, but those events were decades ago, so I learned/relearned a lot of details about Tut's life, his family history, the era's religious beliefs and political intrigues. I wondered how the author/illustrator would handle the dilemma of what is not known; she says she "used the information that most sources accepted" and I was impressed with that.

This would make a good book as an adjunct for the study of Egyptian history and of King Tut, and also could be used for discussions about the similarities and differences between the peoples and cultures of ancient Egypt and those today.