' Man perishes; his corpse turns to dust; all his relatives pass away But writings make him remembered' In ancient Egypt words had magical power Inscribed on tombs & temple walls coffins & statues or inked onto papyri hieroglyphs give us a unique insight into the life of the Egyptian mind For this remarkable new collection Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson has freshly translated a rich & diverse range of ancient Egyptian writings into modern English including tales of shipwreck & wonder first-hand accounts of battles & natural disasters obelisk inscriptions mortuary spells funeral hymns songs satires & advice on life from a pharaoh to his son Spanning over two millennia with many pieces appearing in a general anthology for the first time this is the essential guide to a complex sophisticated culture Translated with an introduction by Toby Wilkinson