I got this book, “King Tut: The Journey Through The Underworld,” at the MET gift shop on my birthday this year (thanks Mom and Dad 😀) and to say I absolutely loved it is an understatement!
I almost didn’t get the book because “King Tut” was in the title and his mask was on the cover! And that’s not because I don’t love King Tut – I absolutely love Tutankhamun’s story, the story of his tomb, etc! I already have so many books specifically about Tutankhamun that I didn’t need another one!! I’m thankful my Mom pointed this one out to me and told me to just skim through it because she wanted to buy it for me! It is now one of my favorite books that I own!
First off, this book is absolutely gorgeous. The photographs are spectacular! While “King Tut” is in the title, the book isn’t just focused on him or his tomb (although the picture focused on him are incredible in their own right) – there are photographs from many different Egyptian tombs, temples, and artifacts from across Egypt’s history.
Secondly, I love how the book is organized into chapters that go in the exact order a person would go through on their journey to the afterlife. The text has the beautiful pictures to demonstrate the journey to the reader and makes this central aspect of the ancient Egyptian religion/culture come alive. This book is also wonderful for people like me who have read about this subject for years, but also for people who are just starting to learn.
While this book is definitely geared more towards adults, the photographs can be enjoyed by Egyptologists of all ages! I know I would have loved this book as a kid because of the photographs and how the journey to the afterlife was divided into chapters (I read at a high level as a kid, but the reading level of this book is more like 9th grade and up).
Overall, I think this is a fantastic book and something I would definitely recommend if you are interested in ancient Egyptian funerary beliefs! Also, if you enjoyed Moon Knight and want to learn more about the actual Egyptian afterlife, this would be a great supplemental read!
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