Briefly Noted

Hidden Treasures of Ancient Egypt

Zahi Hawass (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Books, 2004) 240 PP., $35

The prolific and telegenic Zahi Hawass—Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and Director of the Giza Pyramids Excavation—has churned out a number of volumes over the past few years, including this coffee-table book filled with atmospheric, full-page photographs taken by Kenneth Garrett. Hidden Treasures showcases many long-overlooked artifacts from Cairo’s Egyptian Museum that were featured in a 2002 exhibit celebrating the museum’s centenary.

Secrets from the Sand

Zahi Hawass (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2003) 268 PP., $45

Hawass takes us behind the scenes at Giza, where he has supervised the restoration of the Sphinx and the Pyramids, and into tombs at Saqqara and the Baharyia Oasis, where in 1996 he uncovered the first of more than 100 gilded, 2,000-year-old mummies. Hawass includes anecdotes about the 21st-century headaches he faces in the field, including negotiations with local Egyptians whose homes happen to sit atop archaeological treasures.