Magnificent. This short book is work of genius. It is not surprising that academics ignored it when it was first published in 1949 - and continue to do so. Of course, most thinking people are dubious of Egyptologists - they still can't explain how the pyramids were built - but de Lubicz proves that a profound ideology underpinned Pharaoh's Egypt. Its focus was less on pagan deities and fanciful notions of the afterworld, and more on a comprehensive knowledge of the human being, physical and spiritual. This understanding was inherited by medieval hermeticists and alchemists. This is a positive and uplifting book, and though the language is somewhat dated, don't let that put you off.

This book strikes me as the author's own philosophy projected onto ancient Egypt, which is mysterious enough to allow for any interpretation. But what if he is right? What if they really were the advanced scientists and mystics and founders of alchemy he believes? That would make this an important work indeed.