Nonfiction Book Reviews

The Secret of the Great Pyramid: How One Man’s Obsession Led to the Solution of Ancient Egypt’s Greatest Mystery by Bob Brier and Jean-Pierre Houdin was an incredibly interesting read.  I literally couldn’t put it down.  It all started when Jean-Pierre Houdin (who was not an expert on Egyptian anything but was a well-known and successful architect in France) watched a special on TV about how the Great Pyramid was built.

Except as he watched the show, he realized that the two explanations given (the two that were always given as being the only possible ways it could have happened) didn’t make any logical sense.  His builder’s mind went to work, and he realized that there had to be another way.

A normal person would have said, “Oh, that doesn’t make sense.  I wonder how it really happened?” and then went on with their lives.  Not Houdin.  He quit his job, sold his house, and spent years working on the problem.  The subtitle to the book said “one man’s obsession” but I think that’s putting it lightly.

Houdin put together incredibly detailed computer models and approached the problem from the point of view of an architect, not an Egyptologist.  He had no preconceived notions of what the Egyptians did, and therefore came to a completely new and novel explanation.  Along the way, he met Bob Brier who helped his ideas get into the scholarly world and helped him receive funding to pay for the work.

The great part was how the book was written.  I felt like I was reading a murder mystery novel; that I had to turn the page to find out what happens next!  It was fast-paced, and the ending was surprising.  I learned a ton about Egypt (and the pyramids in particular) in the process, without ever feeling like I was actually learning.  It was all just so interesting.  I found myself wanting to read every third page outloud to my husband because it had something new and exciting on it.

My only complaint was that the author reiterated the two old explanations for how the pyramids were built several times, along with why it was that they couldn’t be true.  He must have explained it three times, at least.  The first time, I said, “Wow, I didn’t know that!”  The second time, I thought, “Didn’t he already cover this?”  The third time I just started skipping paragraphs until I could find something new to read again.

I don’t know if the author forgot that he had explained that earlier in the book, and so had added it again and again, or if he just thought it was so darn important that he needed to explain it multiple times to make sure his audience truly understood, but either way, that was annoying to me.

But honestly, that was my only complaint.  If you have even the slightest interest in the pyramids of Egypt, or of architecture, or if you’d enjoy a clean murder mystery (no blood in sight!) you’d love this book.  Published in October of 2008, it’s the very newest theories on the pyramids, and I for one found it fascinating.  Even National Geographic’s gotten in on the act and has put together a special about it called Unlocking the Great Pyramid that goes on sale on January 20th.  Perhaps I’ll request that the library bring it in…

I give The Secret of the Great Pyramid 4.75 out of 5 stars.  Loved it.

Havs

PS For anyone interested on what exactly Houdin’s great theory was, please check out the comment section. And while you’re there, leave a comment.  I love to hear from my readers!