The Hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt is part of a new genre of books focussed on Egyptian

Egyptian language

Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...

 hieroglyphs

Egyptian hieroglyphs

Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used cursive hieroglyphs for religious literature on papyrus and wood...

. The book is a primer

Primer (textbook)

A primer is a first textbook for teaching of reading, such as an alphabet book or basal reader. The word also is used more broadly to refer to any book that presents the most basic elements of a subject....

 on hieroglyphs from the viewpoint of topical use within history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

, with example photographs or illustrations. The later chapters discuss the hieroglyphs and the history of their translation.

The book is authored by Aidan Dodson, Egyptologist; he also teaches in Egyptology at Bristol University.

Subject division of the book

The book is divided into six sections, following the Introduction:

• Introduction
• The Origins of Egyptian Language Beginnings
• The Ancient Egyptian Language, The Tongue of the Pharaohs
• Three Millennia of Writing, Lists, Stories, and Inscriptions
• The Mystery of the Hieroglyphs, Hieroglyphs Eclipsed
• Decipherment of the Hieroglyphs, The Key is Found
• Dynasties and Chronologies

Focussed sections

Other sections or topics under the main chapters: (36 of 51 listed)

• 1
• Introduction

• 2
• The Dawn of Writing
• Egyptian Names and Titles
• Naming the King
• That which the Sun Encircles
• The Great House, (Pharaoh
  Pharaoh
  Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
  
  , and House (hieroglyph)-Great)

• 3
• The Egyptian Alphabet, (see: Alphabet: a-to-"dj")
• The Hieroglyphic Writing System
• Hand-Written Hieroglyphs and their Derivatives
• Ancient Egyptian Grammar
• The Coptic Period
• Dates and Numbers

• 4
• Lists, Stories, and Inscriptions
• Inscriptions for the Gods
• The Texts of Burial, (also, Book of the Dead
  Book of the Dead
  The Book of the Dead is the modern name of an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom to around 50 BC. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as "Book of Coming Forth by Day". Another translation would be "Book of...
  
  )
• Autobiographies
• Historical Inscriptions
• Chronicles

• 4 (cont.)
• Administrative Documents
• Expedition Records, (example, Piankh Stele, (Piye
  Piye
  Piye, was a Kushite king and founder of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt who ruled Egypt from 747 BCE to 716 BCE according to Peter Clayton. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, Sudan...
  
  ))
• Wisdom and Philosophy
• Human Relationships
• Stories
• Texts of Magic and Medicine, (Metternich Stele, etc.)

• 5
• Pointing the Way
• Kircher's Flight of Fancy
• The First Glimmers of Enlightenment

• 6
• The Key is Found
• Young and Champollion
• The Rosetta Stone
  Rosetta Stone
  The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...
  
  
• Champollion's Legacy
• The Berlin School
• Modern Times

• 7
• The Hieroglyphic Names of the Kings of Egypt
• Where to see Hieroglyphs
• Glossary
• Bibliography and websites

The book is fully illustrated with topical photos, as well as some thumbnail photos for timeline

Timeline

A timeline is a way of displaying a list of events in chronological order, sometimes described as a project artifact . It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labeled with dates alongside itself and events labeled on points where they would have happened.-Uses of timelines:Timelines...

s. Some photos cover, ostracon

Ostracon

An ostracon is a piece of pottery , usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In archaeology, ostraca may contain scratched-in words or other forms of writing which may give clues as to the time when the piece was in use...

s, block statue

Block statue (Egyptian)

The block statue is a type of memorial statue that first emerged in the Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. The block statue grew in popularity in the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period, and by the Late Period, this type of statue was the most common. These statues were used in temples...

s, stele

Stele

A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...

s, papyri, obelisk

Obelisk

An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...

s, statuary, sarcophagi

Sarcophagus

A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...

, etc. There are also graphics and illustrations.