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Ramses II
Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso
319 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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July 30, 2012
Ramesses II by T. G. H. James is an excellent resource on the pharaoh Ramesses II (or Ramesses the Great). It's a lavishly presented volume, illustrated with both photographs and artists' copies of temple scenes. The text is a solid, readable biography. I wouldn't call it particularly innovative, but it is a worthwhile read.
Ramesses made me feel very nostalgic – not only for the time when I was a little bit obsessed with Ramesses II, but also for the all-too-brief time I was in Egypt. This book does have a story to it, if you're not interested, just scroll for the next couple of paragraphs.
Just after I had started to become interested in Ancient Egypt, especially Ramesses II, I saw a copy of this book in a Sydney bookshop. I hadn't been able to stop and look at it, let alone buy it, and when I searched the bookshop's website, I could only find Joyce Tyldesley's biography of Ramesses. I decided that it must have been something I thought had seen and moved on.
Fast forward a couple of years, when I'm in Egypt with my parents for "schoolies" (I'm such a nerd). It was our last day in Cairo, so we visited the Museum again, and then the bookshop across the road. There, I saw the book again. But it wasn't in English. I was pretty disappointed. That same day, my parents went out for dinner and found (and bought!) a copy in English. I was over the moon. I would post a cat .gif to show my reaction, but I'm having trouble with TinyPic.
After all that, I'm ashamed to say that this is my first time reading it – five and a half years later. I have no excuses.
At any rate, T. G. H. James' Ramesses II is a hugely enjoyable read. It's similar in format and structure to the last book I read ( Ramses II: An Illustrated Biography by Christiane Desroches Noblecourt), but a superior read and just as beautifully presented.
The biggest weakness of Ramesses is the actual, physical size of the thing. It's a gigantic coffee table book, and heavy. The text is long enough to require a fair amount of reading and the book just that little bit too big to be conducive to reading. On the other hand, the size is a bonus for the illustrations.
T. G. H. James' account of Ramesses' reign and legacy is fair and balanced. While he does call Ramesses out a few times, he also refutes some earlier criticisms of Ramesses. His points seem reasonable, whether he's disabusing the notion of Ramesses and Nefertari being a "love match" or Ramesses being a "sex maniac". As a reader, sometimes I mourned the dismissal of the more romantic views of Ramesses, but this isn't wanton dismissal by James.
James also spends some time on the legend of Ramesses II, tracing his figure in myth, the distortions of his names (e.g. Shelley's Ozymandias), and his rediscovery with the decipherment of the hieroglyphs. This is all fascinating stuff. I would have liked to have seem some discussion on the interpretations of Ramesses in modern times, but that's me being picky again – and it's really not the point of this book.
All up, T. G. H. James' Ramesses II is the better coffee table book on Ramesses II. It's both an excellent visual guide to Ramesses and a good, solid biography. I'm glad I managed to get my hands on it and finally read it.
Ramesses made me feel very nostalgic – not only for the time when I was a little bit obsessed with Ramesses II, but also for the all-too-brief time I was in Egypt. This book does have a story to it, if you're not interested, just scroll for the next couple of paragraphs.
Just after I had started to become interested in Ancient Egypt, especially Ramesses II, I saw a copy of this book in a Sydney bookshop. I hadn't been able to stop and look at it, let alone buy it, and when I searched the bookshop's website, I could only find Joyce Tyldesley's biography of Ramesses. I decided that it must have been something I thought had seen and moved on.
Fast forward a couple of years, when I'm in Egypt with my parents for "schoolies" (I'm such a nerd). It was our last day in Cairo, so we visited the Museum again, and then the bookshop across the road. There, I saw the book again. But it wasn't in English. I was pretty disappointed. That same day, my parents went out for dinner and found (and bought!) a copy in English. I was over the moon. I would post a cat .gif to show my reaction, but I'm having trouble with TinyPic.
After all that, I'm ashamed to say that this is my first time reading it – five and a half years later. I have no excuses.
At any rate, T. G. H. James' Ramesses II is a hugely enjoyable read. It's similar in format and structure to the last book I read ( Ramses II: An Illustrated Biography by Christiane Desroches Noblecourt), but a superior read and just as beautifully presented.
The biggest weakness of Ramesses is the actual, physical size of the thing. It's a gigantic coffee table book, and heavy. The text is long enough to require a fair amount of reading and the book just that little bit too big to be conducive to reading. On the other hand, the size is a bonus for the illustrations.
T. G. H. James' account of Ramesses' reign and legacy is fair and balanced. While he does call Ramesses out a few times, he also refutes some earlier criticisms of Ramesses. His points seem reasonable, whether he's disabusing the notion of Ramesses and Nefertari being a "love match" or Ramesses being a "sex maniac". As a reader, sometimes I mourned the dismissal of the more romantic views of Ramesses, but this isn't wanton dismissal by James.
James also spends some time on the legend of Ramesses II, tracing his figure in myth, the distortions of his names (e.g. Shelley's Ozymandias), and his rediscovery with the decipherment of the hieroglyphs. This is all fascinating stuff. I would have liked to have seem some discussion on the interpretations of Ramesses in modern times, but that's me being picky again – and it's really not the point of this book.
All up, T. G. H. James' Ramesses II is the better coffee table book on Ramesses II. It's both an excellent visual guide to Ramesses and a good, solid biography. I'm glad I managed to get my hands on it and finally read it.
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