Title: A Lot of Conjecture Mixed with Fact
Product review: The most frustraing thing about E.A. Wallis Budge's books is that it's often impossible to tell when he's using conjecture and when he's actually stating a fact. Far too often he'll make a statement that today we know to be false -- for example, that the name of "Bast" and "Sekhmet" derive from words for "fire", which they don't as they mean (respectively) "Devouring/Ointment Lady" and "Powerful Lady" (nothing at all to do with fire) -- and then make a statement that actually has some basis in fact. For BEGINNERS, I would say: STAY AWAY from this book until you have a very firm grasp of Egyptian society and culture. If you need an indexed book about Egyptian deities, try George Hart's "Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses". For ADVANCED USERS, I would say: Yes, you should probably read this, but be sure that when Budge makes a statement that there's some way to verify what he's saying, or your research could be seriously skewed.
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