Mirage

March 15, 2008
In 1798, Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt. Attached to the expedition was an elite group of scientists eager to see strange sights and make great discoveries; Mirage is about their adventures. Neither the scientists nor the troops were prepared for the heat, water shortages, disease, or local uprisings. Still, the naturalists, geologists, engineers, and proto-archaeologists managed to collect an amazing amount of data. While focused on the science core, the book contains detailed descriptions of such diverse topics as Napoleon's military maneuvers, rudimentary excavation practices, selection of concubines, and some particularly creative torture techniques. The facts are fascinating, and the text is well written; unfortunately, it also suffers from significant organizational problems. Statements and sometimes whole paragraphs are repeated in different chapters. Keeping track of who did what, where, and when is difficult. And while tortures, for example, are described in nasty detail, actual scientific discoveries (as opposed to collection descriptions) are glossed over. Cassandra Campbell does a fine reading job and seems to enjoy pronouncing the often complicated French names. Despite the organizational issues, this is a satisfying book. Recommended for all but the smallest public and academic libraries.I. Pour-El, Des Moines Area Community Coll., Boone, IA

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 22, 2007
When 28-year-old Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, his band of 50,000 soldiers and sailors was accompanied by 151 Parisian scientists and artists, who laid the groundwork for what became Egyptology. Ten of these remarkable men are the focus of Burleigh’s narrative. Among them, three of the most prominent were the lowborn, “pugnacious” mathematician Gaspard Monge, a dedicated revolutionary who invented descriptive geometry; the painfully shy chemist Claude-Louis Berthollet, who invented new ways to make gunpowder and steel; and the witty artist and diplomat Dominique-Vivant Denon, who produced 200 architecturally precise sketches of Egyptian ruins and a bestselling travelogue; later he became Napoleon’s first director of the Louvre Museum. The survivors of the team brought home a vast body of knowledge, but surrendered their greatest discovery, the Rosetta Stone, to conquering British troops. The result of the savants’ work was the 24-volume Description of Egypt, magnificently illustrated with engravings and maps, which helped launch Egyptomania and the “rape of the Nile,” though Burleigh’s discussion of this is scanty. Still, Burleigh (A Very Private Woman) offers an absorbing glimpse of Napoleon’s thwarted bid for a grand French empire and its intellectual fruits. 8 pages of b&w photos.