Customer Reviews:
 Good but not on it's own! October 3, 2006
D. M. Bailey (Nottingham, Eng)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've found this book to be a bit of a mixed bag, many highs but a few lows made progress frustrating at times. Kamrin avoids the technical aspects of grammar which was a great blessing for me and she has a clear easily reading style. However, the explanations were too thin at times and after getting a number of exercises wrong I found myself reaching for other books, particularly concerning honourific transposition, in order to get the information required. Kamrin picks Her excercises from a wide range of dynasties which lead to more problems dealing with Early and New Kingdom variances, again I was reaching for other books to confirm the more archaic spellings for some words which are not supplied. There're a few images that are just too indistinct to make out the signs to boot so some exercises were abandoned.
Broadly it was helpful and has moved me along in my studies, but on it's own I would have given up my studies.
 The best book you can find on hieroglyphs March 4, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Very rarely does one find a book as well-put together and interesting as this one. The author has covered the topic of Egyptian hieroglyphs tremendously well and, unlike most other books on the subject, it is a delight to read. The design of the book is superb, with wonderful illustrations accompanying the lessons. There are also plenty of exercises within the book to ensure you get some practise in- after all, learning and remembering hieroglyphs is not an easy task! I would therefore say that if you are interested in the fascinating world of the Ancient Egyptians and their mysterious language, invest in this book!
At last - an accessible but thorough book for beginners August 28, 2005
N. R. Dunlavey (London)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is a first class book. For a long time, students of Egyptian hieroglyphics have had to choose between one of the stuffy but thorough academic books (Allen, or the marvellous-but-hard Gardiner) or one of the more trivial books that give an accessible overview, but little depth. Collier and Manley's book was a slightly unsatisfactory compromise - correct as far as it went, but made accessible by being narrow in scope.
Kamrin's book finally gives a decent text for the beginner who doesn't want to be trivial. It's accessible (no archaic grammar terminology is assumed, unlike Gardiner) but it's thorough, and systematic.
Of course, it doesn't have the complete depth and breadth of Gardiner, but the truly devoted can move on to that to have as a reference after they have finished this.
And, of enormous importance, this book is actually portable. It's not pocket size, but it does fit in a briefcase or back-pack.
I thoroughly welcome this book, and it's going to be with me on my travels this autumn.
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