The story of the Rosetta Stone's role in recovering the splendor of Pharaonic Egypt in its own words is generally well known, at least in outline. This delightful book by an eminent expert in the field provides a very readable wealth of context and detail, from the Stone's original purpose and creation, to its current repository at the British Museum. The accidental discovery of the stone by Napoleon's troops is highlighted by the struggle for the Stone's possession. The decipherment story is very much like a mystery novel, with large egos and intense competition among the international contenders. The author makes clear that Champollion certainly was the clear winner. The challenge has aspects that reach into the nature of human intelligence and communication, and while others may provide pieces and hints without complete explanations, the `aha' moment of insight is singularly personal. This is something the author has direct knowledge of in his solution of the unreadable Carian script that also had a home in Egypt. Although a small book, the nine chapters are complemented by the Stone's text, along with an extensive reading list for those wanting more specific details over a wide range of topics and references.

I knew little about the Rosetta Stone other than what I had learned in school many years ago. Every schoolchild learns that the Rosetta Stone, found in 1799 along the Nile delta, had the same text in three different languages -- Egyptian hieroglyphics, Egyptian demotic (the language of the people), and Greek -- that allowed scholars to, for the first time, decipher Egyptian hierglyphics, thus making it possible to read all the already-found (and subsequently-found) hieroglyphic texts that up to that time had simply not been decipherable. This made possible, really, the study of ancient Egypt as never before, and indeed the whole field of Egyptology. John Ray, professor of Egyptology at Cambridge, writes a fascinating history of the Stone, its discovery, early attempts at deciphering it, the partial success of Thomas Young and the final decipherment by Jean-Francois Champollion. He also gives a history of Greek occupation of Egypt leading up to the creation of the Rosetta Stone in 196 BC early in the reign of Ptolemy V. And he addresses the question of who really owns these treasures of antiquity such as the Stone, the Elgin Marbles and so on. He also gives his own translation of the actual Rosetta Stone text.

Part of what makes this book so compulsively readable is Ray's dry sense of humor. He sneaks in wry comments in the most unexpected places and I found myself chuckling frequently. The book, intended for the general reader, is never guilty of talking down and for that one can be thankful.

Recommended.

Scott Morrison