Nefertiti: Unlocking the Mystery Surrounding Egypt's Most Famous and Beautiful Queen

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Summary: Can we get some new theories?
Review: All in all, this is a pretty good book, in a textbook-y way. In my opinion, it was mainly a rehash of the popular theories of Nefertiti, and not really anything new and exciting for us to read.

Side note to reviewer Ma Ra: If you are so ticked off at Nefertiti looking more Middle Eastern than African, there's a sculptor that's been dead for 3000 years that you'll have to take it up with. Anyone with eyes who has seen Ancient Egyptian art knows that they depicted themselves as more Middle Eastern looking than what modern people consider "African". Sounds to me like you're pushing a sterotype.

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Summary: nefertiti
Review: and joyce tyldesley writes another great book. this book has 232 pages filled with lots of info. there are 7 chapters the imperial family, a beautiful women has come, the aten dazzles, images of amarna, horizon of the aten, the mystery of the disappearing queen, and sunset and then an epilogue the beautiful woman returns. and like in all her books she leaves a section of notes and further reading. one thing i love about her books is she gives you the place were she get her idea's of what happened so that you can read it and decided what you think happend and she also writes what others think so you get to decide for youself what you believe happend, but i have always agree with what she say's. she has lots of knowledge of ancient egypt and she doesn't take any subject lightly, she puts a lot of thought and time into each of her books. if you read the chapter titles mentions preveously you will notice that not all the chapters are about nefertiti, but you have to understand what was going on at the time to understand nefertiti and if you know about ancient egypt in general that will not be enough with out the other chapters (that don't talk about nefertiti) because during the armarna period the old religion was gone and now there is this whole new religon were things are done a new way, and joyce tyldesley knows what she is doing. this is a great book and i know that will love it just as much as me.

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Summary: Nefertiti - captivating & informative - a must read
Review: Ever since I saw the Nefertiti exhibit at the Met in NYC, I have been intrigued with who this woman was & her origins. Ms. Tyldesley has answered many of my questions. Her ability to convey her knowledge of this period of Egyptian history is as well done as in her book on Hatchseput. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about strong female regents/rulers & the possible origins of monothesism. It is a worthy addition to my growing Egyptian collection. Kudos!

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Summary: Nefertiti
Review: I enjoyed this book, but it is definitely for the person with some knowledge of Egyptian history. The book is not a romantic, detailed description of the queen and her life and times; it covers the artistic and epigraphic data dealing with the Amarna period, a particularly complex and confusing time in Egypt's history. The personalities of the period first came to public awareness during the 1920s, when the famous bust of the queen was put on display, and since that time a number of speculative theories have enjoyed a vogue among experts and amateur enthusiasts. Ms Tyldesley covers the history of these theories, the data supporting or refuting them, and poses some of her own. (Some of these I first came across in Week's "The Lost Tomb," where he introduces the concept--borrowed from Ms Tyldesley and others--that some of the novelties of the Armarna court were actually in evidence during the reign of the preceeding monarch, Amenhotep III, and were simply driven to extremes under Akhenaten). Ms Tyledesley also makes it quite evident than much of the evidence that might have gone far to clearing up some of the confusion in the reigns of the Armarna monarchs has been lost to the vandalism, theft and neglect of centuries. Although she goes far in creating a profile of the queen and her contemporaries, I think that the reader will still come away with a feeling that the only certain thing about the period is its continued mystery.

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Summary: Misleading Title
Review: I had been looking forward to reading this book since I bought it in April. Unfortunately, my expectations were not fulfilled, and the book as a whole disappointed me. Although the author provides a good view of life in Egypt's 18th Dynasty (New Kingdom), the actual examination of Nefertiti's life is sadly lacking. Of the 198 pages (excluding notes), I would estimate only 1/4-1/3 is actually spent deciphering the title's subject. More time seems to be spent on Nefertiti's husband, Akhenaten, and life in general during this period. Granted, the main point becomes, by the end of the book, that we simply do not have all the pieces to link together about Nefertiti, where she came from, and what happened to her. However, I found the author, in trying to relate all the possibilities and theories, to be more confusing than enlightening. Also, I found descriptions of tomb paintings and reliefs to be confusing, and these descriptions presupposed extensive knowledge of Egyptian art. I would read a description of an artwork, and then realize it had nothing to do with the picture or graphic provided. I finished this book with a sense of relief, and although I did learn some useful information about this era, I was extremely disappointed in how the information was presented, and in the misleading title.

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Summary: A book that has changed my life !!!!!
Review: I read this book in the winter of 1998. I knew of the bust of Nefertiti, but I knew nothing about her or Akhenaten. This book is startling fresh and opened my eyes to the wonders of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, in particular Akhenaten, Nefertiti, the harmonious utopia of Amarna(Akhetaten) and the Aten religion. I'm now a Aten worshipper (In a very basic way) and I'm still facinated by the legacy that Akhenaten and Nefertiti left behind. I rushed out and bought the book - it's one of my favourites. I think that Nefertiti DID rule under an assumed name after Akhenaten - it makes perfect, logical sense ! I urge anyone seriously considering to find out about the Amarna period to read/buy this book ! I'm sure that Akhenaten and Nefertiti would be very happy that people are still interested in the Aten and that the Aten will continue to shine into the 21st Century ! Also many congratulations to Joyce Tyldesley for having written such a superb book.

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Summary: A Stale Retread of Old Theories
Review: I swear, it takes a steam shovel to get Egyptologists out of their rut! More of the same old nonsense: Ankeaten "married" his two daughters, blah, blah. Nefertiti was a foreign princess, bleh-bleh. Amenhotep III married his daughter too (Sitamun) and fathered Tut and Smenkhare, blabbity-blah. Tyldesley just rehashes the same old crap. Nothing new here.

Rating:
Summary: A Stale Retread of Old Theories
Review: I swear, it takes a steam shovel to get Egyptologists out of their rut! More of the same old nonsense: Ankeaten "married" his two daughters, blah, blah. Nefertiti was a foreign princess, bleh-bleh. Amenhotep III married his daughter too (Sitamun) and fathered Tut and Smenkhare, blabbity-blah. Tyldesley just rehashes the same old crap. Nothing new here.

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Summary: Solid, but not inspiring
Review: I was somewhat disappointed by this book. The title gives the impression that it will be a biography of Nefertiti. It would have been better titled "What we think we know about Nefertiti and the Armarna Period from rock carvings".
Having read a number of books on Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, etc., I found very little that was new in Tyldesley's offering. A different perspective is always welcome, but Tydesley did not "think outside the square" in any meaningful way. She follows the same chronological trail as other authors, using the same pieces of evidence. While she does delve into the history of the Eighteenth Dynasty, this book could have been more fully grounded in other ways. For example, how would a girl of Nefertiti's social class have been brought up? How would her parents have lived? What is the current thinking on what marriage meant to the ancient Egyptians? What are the daily duties of a queen? Tackling these issues could have brought life to both Nefertiti and the book, and gone some way towards making it the biography the title seemed to promise. If details on these points do not exist, Tydlesley could at least have said so.
Tydesley's style of writing is uninspiring and there was not enough in the way of footnotes and extra information for my liking. Certain points of evidence are interpreted in very different ways by different scholars, and I would have appreciated reading the pros and cons of these debates and thus learning exactly why Tyldesley came to some of the conclusions she did. I agree with other reviewers that better visual aids would have been appreciated in this book.
Joyce Tydesley's Nefertiti is, as far as I can tell from my amateur perspective, a solid offering that covers the main points. But it left me wanting more of everything: more evidence, more theories, more pictures, more excitement, more that was new to me. I would not recommend it unless you already have some familiarity with Ancient Egypt.

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Summary: A fascinating read in real-world language
Review: I wrote a review earlier but it didn't show up. :( Anyways, I am pretty new to egyptology, but I found myself fascinated by Joyce's book. I agree with others, though, who say that her constant references to the numbered index in the back get kind of annoying (and time-consuming). It would be much better if they were printed on the bottom of that present page. Although this book doesn't clear up the mystery of Nefertiti, learning about her husband Akhenatan (sp?) is just as enjoyable. I just ordered another book by Joyce T, "Daughters of Isis."