Journal Entry 1 by Seferim from Columbia, Maryland USA on Monday, May 05, 2003

Discusses Champollion and the great obsession with the Rosetta Stone and Egyptomania.  

Journal Entry 2 by Seferim from Columbia, Maryland USA on Sunday, December 14, 2003

Going to DSM 

Journal Entry 3 by DSM from Bad Axe, Michigan USA on Wednesday, January 07, 2004

Received in PERFECT condition as part of our Virtual Book Box! Thanks! Adding to my TBR shelves . . which are becoming more and more overloaded! 

Journal Entry 4 by DSM at Controlled Release in Controlled Release, --by post or by hand (ie ring, ray, RABCK, trade) -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Released 7 yrs ago (2/8/2005 UTC) at Controlled Release in Controlled Release, --by post or by hand (ie ring, ray, RABCK, trade) -- Controlled Releases

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I'm sending this off w/out reading it since I've made poor quadrat wait long enough! It's on it's way to the UK! 

Journal Entry 5 by quadrat from London , Greater London United Kingdom on Monday, March 28, 2005

just quick journal to say received - thank u very much. no worries re:the wait! 

Journal Entry 6 by quadrat from London , Greater London United Kingdom on Tuesday, December 13, 2005

what an amazing book! i have had this on my bookshelf for a while and now that my life is less hectic than it has been, decided to have a read. and by coincidence, when i was halfway through, noticed that the BBC was doing an Egypt series. All i can say is that this book is *wonderful*, one of the best i've ever read in that the attention to detail, history and emotion is superb and it makes for a very enchanting and detailed piece of true storytelling. am very impressed and will check out some of the Adkins' other books as well as looking into travelling to Egypt... ;) 

Journal Entry 7 by flambard from Horsham, West Sussex United Kingdom on Saturday, February 11, 2006

Thanks J - look forward to it, especially with this week's news about the new tomb discovery in the Valley of the Kings... 

Journal Entry 8 by flambard from Horsham, West Sussex United Kingdom on Sunday, February 26, 2006

A splendid book, full of surprises. It portrayed the backdrop of revolutionary France clearly and wove it into the story of the Champollion brothers with great care. In fact the co-operation of the brothers was one of the surprises for me, along with the relative unimportance of the Rosetta stone and the ingratitude of the French towards someone who should have been lauded and lionized. The inclusion of hieroglyphs in the text was not overplayed, but if anything I think the ramifications of Champollion's discoveries in debunking the biblical timetable since 'creation' (i.e. his discovery of the veracity of the early phaoronic dynasties) was too underplayed. And the writing style didn't lend itself to building up any form of tension or excitement - though it fascinated brilliantly! I need to find a decent home for this book! 

Journal Entry 9 by flambard from Horsham, West Sussex United Kingdom on Thursday, May 11, 2006

I've set up a bookray for this marvellous book! The order of travel is as follows. If you are in the ray, please contact the next person on the list to get their name and address to pass it on. If they do not reply, please move to the next person on the list.

Please journal on receipt of the book and when you pass it on so that I can keep track of progress.

catsalive
froggirlwendy
glade1
MaryZee
genielady
TheBowieFollies
tania-in-nc <---- here!
rapscallia
AlterEgoZoe
Ilios
perryfran
WelshHelen
Scarlett17
chich

Many thanks! Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 10 by flambard at mail release in Given to fellow BookCrosser, a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, May 13, 2006

Released 6 yrs ago (5/13/2006 UTC) at mail release in Given to fellow BookCrosser, a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases

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And we're off to Australia! 

Journal Entry 11 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Monday, May 22, 2006

Book received. Thanks, flambard.

I'm envious of that 1st edition Artists Series bookplate. I'd love to have one of each edition as mementoes. 

Journal Entry 12 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, June 29, 2006

Very interesting, albeit extremely dry. It took me a long time to get through this book even though the history of deciphering hieroglyphics was quite fascinating, & occurred during a period of political turmoil in France. I found I could only read about 30 pages a sitting so it took me a couple of extra weeks.

Thanks again, flambard. I'll get this off to froggirlwendy ASAP. 

Journal Entry 13 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, July 02, 2006

Posted to froggirlwendy this morning. 

Journal Entry 14 by froggirlwendy from Brisbane, Queensland Australia on Thursday, July 06, 2006

Arrived yesterday - thanks catsalive (& flambard). I have a few bookrings arrived together so will read ASAP and keep the ring moving. Looking forward to this one :D 

Journal Entry 15 by froggirlwendy at on Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Released 5 yrs ago (8/8/2006 UTC) at

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Even though I found this to be an interesting read, this book still took me a while to get through. I really enjoyed it - I love reading about Egypt and the battle to decipher hieroglyphics was interesting. Thanks again for sharing this one.

On it's way to glade1. Enjoy!! 

Journal Entry 16 by glade1 from McLeansville, North Carolina USA on Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Received in the mail today, along with a couple of lovely RABCK surprises--thanks, froggirlwendy! More later... 

Journal Entry 17 by glade1 from McLeansville, North Carolina USA on Saturday, September 02, 2006

What a fascinating book. I have never been an Egyptophile, so this was all new territory for me and I found it to be wonderfully interesting. Unfortunately, whenever I read a history/biography like this it makes me think I'm squandering my life! Look at all Champollion was able to do even with poor health, no money, and a short life span. He was truly gifted and focused and I am surprised that I'd never even heard his name until this book arrived on my doorstep!

I too was impressed with the closeness of the brothers and in general with the amount of support and encouragement Champollion received. Though he had his share of detractors, I imagine it could have been worse, given the competitiveness and backbiting that often are exhibited in academia. The one thing that I found interesting was how little time he spent with his wife and daughter. No correspondence with them was quoted and more often than not he was off somewhere doing research while they lived with his brother's family. He seemed much closer to his brother and colleagues than to his wife (although I guess that's not really surprising, given many of the marriages I have seen).

This book gave me new appreciation of Egypt, its art, its culture, and its history. I've somehow always found things Egyptian to be dry and boring, but this tale brings some of it to life, even though it is through a nineteenth-century lens.

My favorite quote, from the "Eulogy to Dead Authors":

A man has perished: his corpse is dust,
and his people have passed from the land;
it is a book which makes him remembered
in the mouth of a speaker.

This book certainly goes a long way toward helping Champollion be remembered.

I await MaryZee's address to move this along.

Update 9-8-06: Mailed to MaryZee today via media mail. 

Journal Entry 18 by MaryZee from Taneytown, Maryland USA on Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Arrived safely today. I'm working on one bookring now, and have one other one here right now. Will update here when I'm able to start - shouldn't be more than 2 weeks.

9/16 update - Just finished one bookring, and since I'm last on the other one, decided to move this to the top of the pile, so it can be on its way to the others waiting. Starting on this today. 

Journal Entry 19 by MaryZee from Taneytown, Maryland USA on Sunday, September 24, 2006

I must admit, when this book first arrived, I looked at it and thought to myself I really wasn't in the mood for more non-fiction. I spent most of August reading non-fiction to put into a bookbox. (I usually read about 1/3 non-fiction, and 2/3 fiction.) But I looked at the list, saw there are quite a few folks waiting for this one, and thought well, it's only 300 pp. and I am interested in the topic.

I've always been interested in stories about Egypt, but until BC never read much about it. Since BC, I've read several novels about Egypt and enjoyed them all. Many thanks to Seferim (whom I've met) and Flambard, for sharing this book. Although it took me a while to get into it (didn't have much time during the week), I spent a good chunk of time with it yesterday at the Pour House, and was able to finish it this evening. This must be my year for French biographies. I started off the year with a large tome called Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama, which was a detailed history of the French Revolution. This book started out almost where Citizens left off - with the expansion of Napoleon's empire, into Egypt. I'd heard about the Rosetta Stone before, but wasn't really clear where or when it was discovered.

This book followed the study of hieroglyphics from the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, thru Champollion's research and development of the deciphering method, and finished up with the further research that his work led to (after he died). It was such a shame that he sacrificed his life to his work, and battled jealous competitors for years before finally in his last years, receiving recognition for all his hard work. I thought it was wonderful that his brother took on the responsibility of finishing up and having Champollion's work published, since otherwise it may have been fruitless (since so little of his work was published during his lifetime).

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Egyptian history, codes, and languages. Thanks to all for sharing it. I have GenieLady's address, and will mail this out to her in the next couple of days. 

Journal Entry 20 by Genielady from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia USA on Tuesday, October 17, 2006

It's here! It looks very interesting, but I have one ring ahead of it. Should be able to start after the weekend. Thanks for sharing! 

Journal Entry 21 by Genielady from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia USA on Wednesday, January 03, 2007

This was a fascinating book, but it DID take me a while to get through it. Mailed off to TheBowieFollies. 

Journal Entry 22 by Genielady at for a bookring in to a fellow bookcrosser, a postal release -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Released 4 yrs ago (12/30/2007 UTC) at for a bookring in to a fellow bookcrosser, a postal release -- Controlled Releases

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Oops - should be 2006! Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 23 by TheBowieFollies from Brooklyn, New York USA on Wednesday, January 17, 2007

ey up..aye this book has really gone the gamut innit! It is now here with the scouser in Nueva York, I am going to imbibe this one, looks well up my street, well it wouldnt want to be because its hubcaps may get nicked :P Flambard cheers for letting me be one of the brood I am en route to edinburgh on friday but will only be a fortnight and keep this one rolling along ;)
Im made up about reading this one!
bappy hookcrossing, brooksiding and bokchoying everyone

Veronica x 

Journal Entry 24 by TheBowieFollies from Brooklyn, New York USA on Tuesday, April 03, 2007

This was an absolutely brilliant account of the european fascination of Ancient Egypt in the years of Napoleon! It demystified alot of the misconceptions about the Rosetta Stone, whilst offering a definitive biography of Champollium, It also illustrated the political machinations that surrounded Champollium at the time in the struggle for deciphering..

A very fluent account indeed
Cheers Flambard for allowing me the opportunity to be privy to this, and forgive that I could not get this posted sooner, I am living in two different countries back and forth like a pendulum and gigging as well

I am on my way to get this posted now
to tania in nc

harpy bonkcrossing... 

Journal Entry 25 by tania-in-nc from Mooresville, North Carolina USA on Thursday, April 12, 2007

The book arrived safely today ... thanks!