Best book on Egyptian Hieroglyphs?

[LoneWolf]

I want to learn to read and write them. I don't feel quite good with mainstream egyptology, I am not looking for letter correspondences, I want to understand them ideologically.

Thanks

[Desecrated]

weeeeeeell.
I think you have to look at this from two different perspectives. If you want to learn it accurately, you really do need to go to school and learn it properly, because there has been so many advances in the field since the 70's that no book on the market is really up to speed.

If you on the other hand is interested in it from an occult view, E. A. Wallis Budge is still the best to learn from. Not only because he had a keen insight into both the language and the religion, but also because most occultists have learned from him.

The other great help is that his books on hieroglyphs are published by dover and are quite cheap.

http://search.doverpublications.com/sea ... is%20budge

[LoneWolf]

I will read E. A. Wallis Budge and take it from there.

Thank you Desecrated

Cheers

[Nahemah]

I have this book, it's a good primer.

Betrò, Maria Carmela (1996). Hieroglyphics: the Writings of Ancient Egypt. New York, London, Paris: Abbeville Press Publishers. ISBN 0-7892-0232-8

[Desecrated]

I have this book, it's a good primer.

Betrò, Maria Carmela (1996). Hieroglyphics: the Writings of Ancient Egypt. New York, London, Paris: Abbeville Press Publishers. ISBN 0-7892-0232-8

An argument against that book is that it is originally written in Italian. So it is a translation of a translation.
It's also based on Gardiner's sign list, so you need the grammar book to complete it.
But those two aren't necessarily a bad combination.

'Gardiner, Sir Alan H. (1957). Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs,'

[Nahemah]

Good call on Gardiner.

I meant this book would be a good companion text along with other sources, but didn't say so in my post or specify any, so yep, headclunk from me on that one.

I don't mind working with secondary translations, though, especially from a quality source like this, it's a good translation and as a history student I have to read translations of texts where the work has been taken through several languages, so I get the values of cross referencing and transliteration as well as translation. Always work from more than one source if you can and keep comparing and contrasting as you go.

[LoneWolf]

The insights of you both are kindly appreciated.

[Desecrated]

as a history student I have to read translations of texts where the work has been taken through several languages,

You need to learn more languages.
Nothing beats reading historic texts in it's original language.