An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary : With an Index of English Words, King List, and Geographical List with Indexes, List of Hieroglyphic Characters, Coptic and Semitic Alphabets (Vol 1) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This two book set has some merits as an extensive base of heiroglyphic information. It is put together in a fairly easy to use format. HOWEVER!
Please be wary that this is the second half of the complete book. The first volume, or the first half of the dictionary, is not available for purchase. Before you think of purchasing this title, be sure that you have found the first volume, otherwise the back half is more than useless. I purchased this thinking I would easily find the first half, but was proved wrong.
Due to the outdated nature of this material, I recommend you find a more contemporary dictionary of Ancient Egyptian that is in its entirety.

Click Here to see more reviews about: An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary : With an Index of English Words, King List, and Geographical List with Indexes, List of Hieroglyphic Characters, Coptic and Semitic Alphabets (Vol 1)

Volume 1 of the monumental work containing about 25,000 words and terms that occur in texts ranging from 3000 B.C. to 600 A.D. Each entry consists of a transliteration of the word, the word in hieroglyphs, and the meaning in English. Indispensable to serious student.

Get 34% OFF

Click here for more information about An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary : With an Index of English Words, King List, and Geographical List with Indexes, List of Hieroglyphic Characters, Coptic and Semitic Alphabets (Vol 1)

Read More...

Circumference: Eratosthenes and the Ancient Quest to Measure the Globe Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Despite its title and subtitle, there is much more in this book than a description of Eratosthenes's attempt to measure the earth's circumference. Roughly the first half of the book contains information on the ancient world as it existed at about the time that Eratosthenes lived. Topics discussed include: the origin and evolution of the city of Alexandria, the people who lived and worked there, the Museum and Library, other landmarks, the politics, the local kings, the thinkers of the period, etc. In the second half of the book, more technical details are presented on Eratosthenes' measurement of the earth's circumference, e.g., his methods, his results as given in the ancient unit "stade", detective work in converting the stade into modern miles, etc. Also discussed are attempts, over the centuries since Eratosthenes's time, to explore and map the globe and even circumnavigate it. The writing style is scholarly, often witty and generally quite engaging - the second half, in my opinion, is particularly gripping.
Unfortunately, there is an error on page 140, near the bottom. Here it is stated that "... the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere is the day when the earth's axis is perpendicular to the plane of its solar orbit". This is incorrect; the earth's axis is never perpendicular to the plane of its solar orbit (the ecliptic); it is currently at about 23.5 degrees off from being perpendicular to the ecliptic and this angle varies somewhat (oscillates) over long periods of time. The first day of spring (vernal equinox), is the day when solar rays hit the earth's surface perpendicular at the equator at local noon, i.e., the sun is directly overhead, as correctly stated in the sentence following the above quote. Simply eliminating the sentence that includes the above quote would easily fix the problem.
Aside from this minor point, this is a book that can be enjoyed by anyone; however, based on its scholarly bent and its subject matter, it will likely be most relished by the more serious ancient history/science buffs.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Circumference: Eratosthenes and the Ancient Quest to Measure the Globe

Get 25% OFF

Click here for more information about Circumference: Eratosthenes and the Ancient Quest to Measure the Globe

Read More...