Spring Book Review: Sacred Luxuries?

Originally "Medical Aromatherapy" (Frog Ltd.) was to be reviewed but I was so displeased with the writing style and book that I felt giving even a bad review would lend too much free publicity so instead I will be reviewing "Sacred Luxuries: Fragrance, Aromatherapy & Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt" by Lise Manniche (Cornell University Press: 1999). The publisher is certainly a nice indication of the books quality! A large book, although not coffee table sized, it is hard covered and has a suggested price of $30+ dollars. While the glossy pages and numerous photographs are nice, they are not spectacular enough to make this title coffee table-esk. The book would have been just as useful and interesting in a cheaper and smaller paper or even hard cover edition. The author Lise Manniche, whom is not an Aromatherapist but instead an archeologist, does a very nice job of presenting the archeological views of perfumery in ancient Egyptian times. This includes a very interesting and in-depth look at the manner essential oils were used for aphrodisia and may decipher the Egyptians theory of love. The book also gives much needed information on proper names given to plants in that era and I enjoyed seeing the actual hieroglyphics in relation to the plants English and Egyptian names. According to Ms. Manniche, whom studied in Copenhagen Denmark, information presented in books by Aromatherapists in relation to the history of Egyptian essential oils use was mostly "pure imagination". She of course neglected to mention the exact books she was referring to and simply grouped all Aromatherapy texts together --I'm sure its quite unlikely she read all of the hundreds of books out there on the subject. I have had the opportunity to read quite a number of Aromatherapy texts and a very informative article on the history of Aromatherapy written by an Aromatherapist / Archeologist living in Egypt. The information the author provided was much more in-depth than the entire contents of "Sacred Luxuries". I found the information in "Sacred Luxuries" very simular to "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils" and other texts; no expert revalations or real contridictions. It also should be noted that the author seems to have only made 2 trips to Egypt and no mention of actual first hand dig work was noted. While the book is highly interesting to anyone researching (such as myself) the history of ancient Egyptian medicine and botanical use, it falls short of providing pertinent Aromatherapy content, leaving me to believe the "Aromatherapy" which appears on the cover was used as a draw to the

Go To Page: 1 2