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‘A fascinating and elegantly written biography of Champollion, doing justice to one of the great stories of academic heroism.’
Simon Singh, Sunday Telegraph
‘A fascinating account of the race to unlock the cryptic language of the pharaohs’
Giles Milton, Daily Mail
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. New hardcover in a new dust jacket. Pages are clean and free of marks or underlining. (6 x 1.25 x 8.5 inches) Includes an index and photo plates. 352 pp. Fast shipping in a secure book box mailer with tracking. A vivid and superbly written account of the unravelling of one of the great intellectual puzzles, set against the backdrop of Europe in the Napoleonic era. When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, his troops were astonished to discover ancient temples, tombs and statues, all covered with hieroglyphs -- the last remnants of an unreadable script and a language lost in time. On their return Egyptomania spread rapidly and the quest to decipher hieroglyphs began in earnest. Jean-Francois Champollion was obsessed with ancient languages from a very young age, and once he heard of the unreadable ancient Egyptian text he had found the challenge to which he would dedicate his the decipherment of hieroglyphs. Despite poverty he made gradual progress, although he had to fight against jealous enemies, both professional and political, every step of the way -- a dangerous task when in post-Revolutionary France a slip of the tongue could mean ruin, exile or even death. Failure threatened, as he was only one of many attempting to read the hieroglyphs, and his main rival, the English Thomas Young, claimed that decipherment was imminent, but Champollion refused to be distracted and finally, in 1822, he made the decisive breakthrough, becoming the first person able to read the ancient Egyptian language in well over a thousand years. Seller Inventory # 201167
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition 1.05. Seller Inventory # bk0060194391xvz189zvxnew
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published 1.05. Seller Inventory # 353-0060194391-new
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Buy for Great customer experience. Seller Inventory # GoldenDragon0060194391
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. First edition stated 2000, first printing, number line starts with 1. Published by HarperCollins. Hardcover with DJ. Condition new, square tight and crisp book, no edgewear, sharp corners, no markings of any kind, no names, no underlinings no highlights, no bent pages, not a reminder. DJ new, bright, no tears no chips, no edgewear, Price Not clipped. 8vo, XII + 335 pages. Seller Inventory # 012371
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. First edition stated 2000, first printing, numbers line starts with 1. Published by HarperCollins. Hardcover with DJ. Condition new, square tight and crisp book, no edgewear, corners not bumped, no names, no underlinings, no highlights, no bent page corners, not a reminder. DJ new, no edgewear, no tears, no chips, price not clipped. 8vo, 352 pages. Seller Inventory # 014424
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0060194391
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0060194391
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0060194391
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. This copy is in new, unmarked condition quarter bound in black cloth to tan paper covered boards with bright gilt titling to the spine and a blind publisher's logo to the upper board. This copy is bright, tight, white and square. The unclipped dust wrapper is in new condition. International postal rates are calculated on a book weighing 1 Kilo, in cases where the book weighs more than 1 Kilo increased postal rates will be quoted, where the book weighs less then postage will be reduced accordingly. This book chronicles the twenty-year attempt of French linguist Jean-Francois Champollion to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics despite poverty, ill health, competition by English physician Thomas Young, and political enemies. This is a deeply detailed look at the life of Champollion and the other scientists and rivals, particularly Young in England, who worked at deciphering the hieroglyphs. The Adkins' are well known authors in the field of Archaeology, and have always been able to turn what can be a dry and dusty subject(pun intended), into something which can fascinate and draw the reader in. Ref D 3. Seller Inventory # 029959