Tutankhamun and the Tomb That Changed the World

By: Bob Brier PhD

Narrated by: Christopher Douyard

It is often thought that the story of Tutankhamun ended when the thousands of items discovered by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon were transported to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and put on display. But there is far more to the story. Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World explores the 100 years of research on Tutankhamun that have taken place since the tomb's discovery, from the several objects in the tomb made of meteoritic iron that came from outer space to new evidence that shows that Tutankhamun may actually have been a warrior who went into battle. Author Bob Brier also takes listeners behind the scenes of the recent CT-scans of Tutankhamun's mummy to reveal more secrets of the young pharaoh.

Brier examines how the discovery of the tomb influenced Egyptian politics and contributed to the downfall of colonialism in Egypt. Outside Egypt, the modern blockbuster exhibitions that raise great sums of monies for museums around the world all began with Tutankhamun, as did the idea of documenting every object discovered in place before it was moved. The modern fascination with ancient Egypt—Egyptomania—was also greatly promoted by the Tutmania that surrounded the discovery of the tomb. Deeply informed by the latest research and presented in vivid detail, this book is a compelling introduction to the world's greatest archaeological discovery.

©2023 Bob Brier (P)2023 Tantor

Tutankhamun Unraveled

During the excavations in the Valley of the Kings, there were tantalizing clues to the tomb of Tutankhamun, a king who previously was unknown. Additionally, other clues were found, in blocks that had been removed from temples, and reused for other building projects by later pharaohs.

When Howard Carter began digging in the Valley, he was certain that there were tombs that had not been located, and he spend years searching for them. Under the employ of Lord Carnarvon, they began working in the Valley, eventually locating a tomb that was virtually intact.

Throughout this book, Bob Brier takes us on the journey of the attempts to find Tutankhamun, the politics surrounding the opening of the tomb, and the different figures that were prevalent in the clearing of the tomb.
This was a fabulous read, and I was not ready for the book to end! I was hooked, unable to set it down. It was one of those "give me more" reads, that you look forward to. Dr. Brier has again brought a work that leaves you enthralled, waiting to see what is going to happen on the next page. While we are familiar with the many items that were found within the tomb, and the fabulous treasures it contained, there are many items that have never been properly documented, researched, or put out for viewing. There is so much more to this tomb than what we have already seen!

Outstanding!!

I got to know of Bob Brier through his wonderful Great Courses lectures. He is an excellent Egyptologist with an infectious enthusiasm for the subject. This book is Dr. Brier at his best. I’ve read numerous books about King Tut but still learned immensely from this interesting, informative and entertaining volume.

Wish the author narrated this

The narrator is not good in my opinion. Love the author's lectures, wish he narrated this book himself.

Fascinating historic storytelling

Fascinating historic storytelling which is both factual and engrossing. The best account I’ve heard about this incredible boy king

Great Material. Frustrating Narration.

I love the added richness of detail regarding the archeological work, the greater detail of the perspnalities involved, and subsequent new discoveries made about the possible life and lifestyle of Tutankhamun.

What I find abysmal and depressing is that the narrator has no personal understanding of the material, and it shows. I know my triggers are my responsibility and I know I should not take it personally, but the wild mispronunciation of Ushabti (Ushtaby?) Is on par with someone saying "supposably" and "for all intensive purposes" and "pacifically". It is a dumbing down of a precious and worthwhile academic book.

Material is great. For me the Narration flaws are a lot to look past. I mean no disrespect to Bob Brier.

Great!

Dr. Brier's works are always informative and entertaining. However, the narrator's constant mispronunciation of "ushtabies" rather than "ushtabies" was really distracting...

A review and legacy

This is an enjoyable account of the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb, and the backdrop of history occurring around it. There are many stories surrounding the aftermath of the discovery and excavation and these are told in an engaging way.

Dr. Brier - the head of the uas staff is not a ram's head!!!! Even amateur Egyptologists like me know it is the head of the sha animal, the creature sacred to the god Set!!!

Excellent book; performance stumbles

Book is excellent. Performance is okay but has some issues. First, the “sh” that others mention like hishtory and shtory. Second, and more significant, what possessed the producer to publish this without checking the pronunciation of Egyptian terms. The reader says ushtabi when it’s ushabti, mispronounces Arabic place names, and even makes mistakes on Greek medical terms. It’s frustrating and distracting.

A great overview of Tut's discovery and legacy

This was an in depth look at Tutankhamun and how the discovery of his tomb changed the world. This book is broken into three parts that break down the different parts of Tut’s discovery and legacy: history of the tomb, Tut finally revealed, and Tut’s legacy.

This starts by giving us the history of Howard Carter and what led up to him discovering the tomb, the long excavation of the tomb, and the tension and issues between Carter and the Egyptian Government. I found this part to be very interesting because while I know the basics of how Carter discovered the tomb, I didn’t realize how revolutionary he was in excavating, preserving, and documenting the process of clearing a royal tomb. I also never realized how much tensions and problems there were between Carter and the Egyptian government surrounding this discovery.

This goes over recent (pre-2022) discoveries surrounding Tut that involved x-raying his body, scanning Tut’s tomb for another hidden room, and DNA sequencing that led to identifying some of his family members' mummies. There are also multiple chapters about recent discoveries from items from Tut’s tomb due to all of his items being moved and conserved for the new Egyptian museum.

While Carter was way ahead of his times in clearing and documenting this tomb, we also see a lot of disregard in other areas, such as with the mummy of Tutankhamun. It amazed me how he didn’t care to damage the body of Tut as long as it came out of the coffins and he got the items that were wrapped up with him. We are also finding as the years pass that he gave things from Tut’s tomb to others and kept some for himself even when he wasn’t supposed to, all because he felt like he deserved it since he discovered the tomb.

Part three is about Tutankhamun’s legacy with the main one being pushing the Egyptians to fight against colonialism in Egypt, and enact strict laws about Egyptian cultural artifacts. This is why Egyptian artifacts belong to Egypt now and not the country/ person who finds them. While I knew Tut was one of the most well known things about Egypt, I never realized that his discovery is what pushed the government to fight to keep their treasuries and to enact strict policies on archeologists.

While this is a few years old now, I still think this is a great resource to learn about the discovery of the boy king and how he changed the world. I highly recommend this audiobook.

Very enjoyable and informative

This story has many interesting points of view and this book covers all of them. Perfect for me as I prepare to go to Egypt.