John H. Taylor

"The Book of the Dead" is not a single text but a compilation of spells that the ancient Egyptians believed would assist them in the afterlife as they made their perilous journey toward the realm of the gods and the ultimate state of eternity. No two copies are identical. The spells are often accompanied by colored vignettes, which graphically show the imagined landscape of the Netherworld, the gods and demons whom the deceased will meet, and the critical 'weighing of the heart' - the judgment that will determine whether the traveler will be admitted into the afterlife or condemned to destruction by the monstrous 'Devourer'. With contributions from leading scholars and detailed catalog entries that interpret the spells and painted scenes, this fascinating and important book affords a greater understanding of ancient Egyptian belief systems and poignantly reveals the hopes and fears of mortal man about the 'world' beyond death.

Emlyn is a model student who gets involved in a prank to steal a mummy and when the night arrives, everything goes wrong.

Since antiquity, mummies have inspired awe and endless fascination. Part of their enduring appeal lies in their capacity to let us confront people from the distant past as recognizable individuals, and even to look into the faces of some of the great rulers who shaped history 3,000 years ago. Mummies also have much to tell us about aspects of the lives of ancient Egyptians that are not recorded in writing: their appearance, their life expectancy, the diseases they suffered from, and how they died. As survivors from one of the world's most splendid civilizations, they bring us tantalizingly close to a long-lost culture. In their own times, mummies were treated as objects of reverence, attracting teams of skilled embalmers and priests. But why exactly were mummies created? What did the Egyptians hope to achieve? What did they fear? These and other intriguing questions are answered in this absorbing history.