Secrets from the Sand: My Search for Egypt's Past

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Summary: Autobiography of Dr. Zahi Hawass
Review: This is a important biography of a Egyptian who has developed the study of Egypt for the people of Egypt and the world.As a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Hawass has a wonderful academic background. He has directed a number of most importand digs of the early 21th century including the workmen's village at the the Pyramids and Golden Mummies. He has also worked to preserve the Giza area and published a number of earlier books on Egypt. This is a must read for informed student of Egypt. Also, are included are color photographs of his many famous sites.

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Summary: A great read!
Review: This is Dr. Hawass' autobiography. A very fun read, lots of great stories, not at all dry. Dr. Hawass is alot of fun, and a real character. He is also the right man in the right place at the right time, as protector and custodian of Egypt's legacy. I was privileged to enter the Sphinx enclosure at Giza with Dr. Hawass in January 2004 and got to see firsthand some of the changes he has put in place at many sites. I was delighted to read more of his plans in this book, which made me feel much better about the future of archaeology in Egypt. It was also fun to hear about how and when he acquired his passion for Egyptology, his first meeting with his colleague Dr. Mark Lehner, and the job perk of "the best balcony in the world."
This book is also full of many wonderful photos, many of which have not been published before; which helped me make more sense of the many sites we visited. I have several of Dr. Hawass' books, but this is my favorite!

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Summary: Secrets of the Sand by Zahil Hawass
Review: To begin with I am not sure what I expected of this book. I knew it was not going to be a scholarly text, and it is not. What it is is a very entertaining book based on the excavations by Zahil Hawass over the last thirty plus years working in Egypt. I found the text to be written for a reader with a more than casual interest in ancient Egypt. It is written in excellent form, with crisp text and is well laid out so that the text and accompanying photographs appear together on the same pages. This is a personal account of Dr Hawass excavations and must be taken as such. When there is a point of personal note regarding people, events and details, and how it effected him, they are included and because of such I found it interesting and entertaining.
The photos in this book are excellent, many of which have never been published and mainly in color. The book deals not only with excavations that Dr Hawass has done in the past, but also his plans for site control in the future in order to protect Egypt's monuments.
But the thing I found most interesting was his personal journey. That Dr Hawass never intended to become and Egyptologist when his career began but a lawyer struck me as ironic how people can by chance find their life's work and passion quite by accident.
I have red Zahil Hawass other books including "Valley of the Golden Mummies' and enjoyed them very much. But the personal account and details along with excellent photographs and well written text allowed me to see inside a career of one of Egypt's and the worlds most prominent archaeologists.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in ancient history.

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Summary: Delightfully Illustrated
Review: Zahi Hawass has spent thirty years in Egypt working to understand ancient Egypt. This book is a semi-autobiographical in that the first part of the book covers his early days working to protect Egypt's past. It then goes on as though giving us a personally conducted tour of some of the most important excavation sites in Egypt. It is absolutely filled with information that would never have occurrec to the casual observer. For instance, the average tourist leaves about an ounce of moisture from breath and sweat in the interior chambers of the Giza pyramids. The aftereffects of this cause a deteriation of the chamber.

The book is profusely illustrated, with 251 of the 262 photographs printed in color.