Product Description
This is an account of the rise and fall of the civilization in the Nile Valley, covering the first human settlement (c. 120,000 BC) to its conquest by Alexander the Great in 333 BC. It is the first reign-by-reign history of ancient Egypt to be published since Sir Alan Gardiner's Egypt of the Pharaohs (1961) and takes full account of the many archaeological, scientific and linguistic discoveries of the last three decades. The author blends archaeological and textual evidence into a lucid and vivid narrative and, by quoting extensively from contemporary sources, such as the funerary autobiographies of individuals and the official accounts of military campaigns, adds a strong sense of atmosphere to the unfolding of events.

Nicolas Grimal recounts the political, cultural and economic history of the Egyptians within the framework of an intricate and well-argued chronology. At a time when the vast accumulation of information from ancient Egypt is becoming almost too diverse for a single mind to encompass, he has managed to transform - without disguising current gaps in knowledge - disparate sources of evidence and the findings of many different disciplines into a coherent historical sequence. This is in itself a considerable achievement: it has also provided the means of presenting one of the most scholarly and at the same time most readable histories ever written of a civilization whose mysteries and achievements have fascinated the West for well over two millennia.

For the paperback edition a section of further reading in English has been prepared by Kent R. Weekes, Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Great book on the ancient Egyptians
If you are involved in the study of ancient Egypt or you just want to know more about the Pharaos, this is the book to go for!

Exhaustive, informative treatment
It's jammed to the gills with information (with a heavy emphasis on pharaonic building projects and dynastic politics; enough about workers and workers' villages to be tantalizing; I wish there were more).I'm not competent to assess how far out of date it is with regard to the Third Intermediate Period, as one reader has charged above.(Most general readers won't care about the Third Intermediate Period one way or the other.)It's been commended for its lucidity by several readers here; but I thought Grimal had an annoying habit of changing the subject without sufficient warning; and the exposition is some times less than completely clear (in part from a penchant of the author for cramming every sentence with information, much of it tangential to the main point).Most infuriating of all was the lack of a single good map of all important Egyptian sites (from Lower Egypt to upper, and on into Nubia for that matter).I had to go to Cyril Aldred's book on Ancient Egypt for an adequate map.Despite these minor flaws, I recommend this book as an excellent survey for an interested non-specialist, like me.

Misleading title
This is a well-written book and the English translation is excellent. But it needs to be said that this is a history of Egyptian pharaohs with a particular emphasis on power struggles and building projects. The pharaonic succession is recounted in detail, and the layout of several temples and monuments is presented in the text and the figures.

Other aspects of ancient Egyptian society, such as the organisation of the economy, administration, law, the military, the hieroglyphs or religious beliefs and worldviews are not even mentioned in this book. All topics involving the ordinary people of Egypt have been ignored.

As a result, this book takes a very narrow look at ancient Egypt when it focuses exlusively on dynastic politics and archeological monuments. There's nothing wrong with that, but in my opinion a more suitable title for this book would have been 'A history of Egyptian pharaohs and their buildings'

Detailed and scholarly, yet accessable
Seeking a solid overview of Ancient Egyptian history, I chose this book on the strong recommendations of Amazon readers.I was not disappointed.While the book is a bit dated (the English edition came out in 1992), it was more than adequte.Grimal presents a detailed history of Egypt from predynastic times through the conquest of Alexander, focusing on relgion, economics and society as well as political history.

The chapters on the Old and New Kingdom were particularly strong - the interrelationship of politics and religion were very clearly written.The chaptes on the first and second intermediate periods and the Middle Kingdom were more diffucult for me to follow, although that may be more a function of my lack of familiarity than the fault of the author.All in all, an excellent introduction, certainly accessable for the lay reader.

The best out there
This may well be the best history of Ancient Egypt ever written.I bought it in 5th grade, when we studied Egypt for the first time, and I will always use it.I used my first copy so much that it fell apart, and I had to buy a new one.If you can only read one history of Egypt, make it this one. ... Read more

Product Description
From its humble origins as a cluster of rival chiefdoms along the banks of the Nile, ancient Egypt rose to become one of the most advanced civilizations of its time. Noted Egyptologist Bill Manley traces its history from the founding of Memphis around 5000 B.C. Recent archaeological evidence sheds new light on the vast architectural legacy of one of the world's oldest nations. Full-color maps and b&w illus. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Ancient Egyptian Atlas
A well-crafted and organized history of Ancient Egypt with excellent maps and descriptions of territories, kingdoms and movement of people and rulers throughout 7000 years of transformation.

Unsatisfactory
The book has a great collection of maps; however, sidetracks from major aspects of Egyptian history. The information presented on the 25th Dynasty, is particularly unsatisfactory. Major events like the battle of 701 BC between Egypt's 25th Dynasty and Assyria, which changed map of the middle east, is vaguely mentioned. The information presented is inconsistent and certainly unsatisfactory for the average reader.

Not the most informative book on Egyptian history, but then again it IS an ATLAS!
Many people are writing that this book did not satisfy their desire for facts and more in-depth explanations of Egyptian history, and that the book's text is not informative. This book is not meant for that purpose, and is really and truly an atlas. The maps are what matter.
In that reguard it serves its purpose and more. The maps are extremely easy to follow, clearly labelled and idenitified, colorful, and most of all- informative. One can tell so much about a period of history by analyzing a map, particularly several which have trade routes, battle sites, important roads and cultural sites CLEARLY marked. Who could ask for anything more! This atlas is wonderful, and is, I repeat, an atlas.
Anyways? What kind of person sits down and reads an atlas? I mean, seriously, its just a reference book, its not a novel. Its not supposed to tell wonderful stories and dazzle you with vibrant facts, its just maps, and anything else, is extra.

Great aid to study of Ancient Egypt
Maps showing the changing boundaries of countries through a period of history are great visual for students of ancient history.

Informative but dull
It is a good read for people with recent encountering with Egypt. But I was little appalled because information seemed dull. Book will give you facts and names but there isn't much more. Colorful images will attract your attention but I really believe those images have interesting legend and tales by their own. ... Read more

Product Description
In this book, Ancient Egyptian monuments, their decorations, and other works of art are reproduced. The tombs at Thebes, the temples of Luxor and Karnak, and the palaces of Akhenaten and Amenhotep II are shown. Also presented are portraits depicting kings and queens and their civil servants. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Stunning!
This textbok was perfect for our 13-day Academic Program Aboard to Egypt in January 2009. The Art amd Achitecture of Ancient Egypt breaks down each period of history into separate dynasties. This sequential approach to Egyptian history helped our undergraduate students better understand the differences in ancient architecture, artwork, and rulers. They could use the textbook as a reference to understand that the Old Kingdom funeral tombs were built in the shape of pyramids as we climbed inside Cheops at Giza. Next, they personally experienced the Middle Kingdom construction of cliffside funeral tombs while visiting Hatshepsut's Temple in Deir el Bahari. Finally, this textbook clearly presented to our students the building of New Kingdom tombs underground while gazing upon the face of King Tutankhamun lying his Valley of the Kings sarcophagus. Yale University has done an outstanding job of presenting this ancient culture in an historical context that is easily understood and grasped by undergraduate Art History students.

Not for the faint of heart... grammatically, that is...
First things first: beautiful pictures. Leave this one on your coffee table for guests to peruse though...
However, there is one major problem: the author's incredible penchant for run-on sentences. A seven-line paragraph without any commas, colons, or periods does not generally constitute an acceptable paragraph by anyone's standards... was the editor asleep? You decide....
That said, the information is interesting, albeit hard to read. The author tends to diverge from his topic with astounding frequency, then jumps back to the original topic without reason or warning, let alone a connective thought... or should I say, "connexion"... apparently the letters 'c+t' in the word 'connection' were offensive to the author's eye? I don't quite understand it either...
But it is a lovely book to look at, valuable from the artistic point of view. Buy it if you are interested in the topic, borrow it if you just think Egyptian art is pretty.

1981 edition review
This is a dense book -- what I mean is that is has a lot of material, a lot of images, and it is rather small print.This version has "new materials" from William Kelly Simpson but it is currently 20+ years old so I'd not recommend it for a new class or serious study -- things do change in the study of the ancient world as new discoveries, new techniques, and new theories develop.However, if you just want basic, great images, ad chronological order to the study of art and architecture it is perfectly fine for these purposes.I used it extensively when I was studying ancient Egypt back at Columbia University.

Mastepiece of Egyptian Art
As always, the reprint of this title should be warmly welcomed. This is a high-standart, much authoritative text on Egyptian art from its origins down to the sunset of Egypt's glorious pharaonic civilization. It is not only well-writen but also furnished with lavishing plates and a lot of figures, which constitute a wealth of information. Not only for Egyptologists and Egyptofans, but for anybody interested in learning seriously about the treasures of art and architecture in the Nile Valley. Highly recommendable.

very descriptive and informative
Many art and architectural treasures survive from Ancient Egypt. This book offers 400 illustrations of such treasures from the fourth millennium B.C.to the conquest of Alexander the Great. The author examines AncientEgyptian tombs, temples, palaces, decorations, and many other works of art.A recommended book for the interested student of art and of Egyptology. ... Read more

Product Description
Shows how a desecrated tomb in the Valley of the Kings holds the key to the true history of the destruction of Atlantis

• Reveals that Tomb 55 in the Valley of the Kings was designed not to keep intruders out, but to trap something inside• Provides forensic evidence proving that the mask believed to be the face of Tutankhamun is actually that of his elder brother Smenkhkare• U.S. Edition of Act of God• Includes three 8-page b&w inserts and 17 b&w illustrations

In Atlantis and the Ten Plagues of Egypt, Graham Phillips explores the excavation of a mysterious and ritually desecrated tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Tomb 55, which he contends holds the key to the true history of the destruction of Atlantis. Unlike other Egyptian tombs designed to keep intruders out, Tomb 55 was constructed to keep something imprisoned within, specifically Smenkhkare, the older brother of Tutankhamun who was deemed responsible for the ten plagues in Egyptian history, to prevent such tragedies from ever happening again. The forensic findings from this tomb coupled with compelling new evidence from the polar ice caps provide sensational evidence that the parting of the Red Sea, the deaths of the first born, and the other plagues that afflicted Egypt were all actual historical events.

Core samples from the polar ice caps indicate that a gigantic volcanic eruption took place in the eastern Mediterranean around the time of Amonhotep's reign. Other research suggests this to have been the time of the eruption that destroyed the Greek island of Thera, one of the likely locations of Atlantis, and that the subsequent cataclysm may explain the unusual lack of resistance to the new religion installed by Amonhotep's son, Akhenaten, when he took power several years later. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A Balanced Piece of Detective Work
Why is it that the only review to so far have been openly hostile toward Mr. Phillips and his book is chosen as the Spotlight Review, and so end up above all the others?I am an historian from England and, as far as it seems to me, this review by Grand Rapids is not only as highly speculative as the reviewer claims Mr. Phillips's book to be, but it is vehemently anti-British.There is no way this should have been chosen as the Spotlight Review for what - in my professional opinion, at least - is a well-argued and balanced piece of historical detective work.Who is doing the choosing here?

A catastrophe theory that no longer sounds so improbable.
This is a cleverly written historical detective story set against a backdrop of in-depth and scholarly research.The author finds archaeological and scientific evidence to suggest that certain seemingly unbelievable destructive events recorded in the Old Testament really occurred.To give an example, he puts together discoveries from Egyptian tombs with geological surveys of the Mediterranean seabed to show that a huge tsunami may have thrashed the Egyptian coast in the fourteenth century BCE to cause what the Bible describes as the parting of the Red Sea in which the Pharaoh's army was drowned by a gigantic wave.This event, the book suggests, could also have devastated a civilization on the island of Crete to give rise to the legend of Atlantis.Many crazy and unfounded ideas have found their way into print concerning Atlantis and biblical mysteries in recent years but this is definitely not one of those.The author critically examines the findings of accredited archaeologists, Egyptologists and scientists in developing his hypotheses which he arrives at step by logical step.Historians today tend to shy away from sensational-sounding catastrophe theories when it comes to the decline of ancient civilizations, but following the tragic events in south Asia recently this book makes one think seriously about just how devastating natural cataclysms can really be.

Egyptian history brought back to life
If you were fed up with books about Ancient Egypt and never thought you would read one again, then try this.It is a really fascinating read.In short, the theme is that Exodus plagues of the Bible were true events caused by a natural catastrophe, but there is far more here that is enlightening and engaging.The author examines the period when the Exodus appears to be set - sometime in the fourteenth century BC - and, by using the records that survive from that time, he paints a vivid picture of one of the most fascinating and little understood eras of human history: when the idea of a single god first became a part of organized religion.He also proposes answers to a number of historical enigmas, such as the identity of the real Moses and the truth behind the Atlantis legend, and introduces a new mystery of his own - that the famous facemask of Tutankhamun does not represent the king at all but his scheming brother.In my opinion, this last riddle alone makes the book well worth reading.

fact and fiction
This book is a mix of fact and fiction, but then again many books today are like that. My advice to you is be skeptical about any author that he knows the truth of a major historical event. IF any real truth is found, the media and many REAL scholars such as arecheologists and university professors will be talking about it.
There are many books that talk what really happened to Tutankamen, and his brother. Weather he really is Moses, there is simply not enough proof. maybe yes, maybe no.
After reading the Da Vinci Code, it makes one think. What really is true. Is history really fabricated by the World Elite and secretly held by Secret Societies.
Well, people certainly buy the books that says the later, if they continue to sell, publishers will keep coming out with it.
If you really want to learn the truth. Go to Egypt on a tour and see for yourself. There is nothing like personal experience. BEst of luck and happy treasure hunting!!!!!

An Egyptian blockbuster - It has to be
It begins with the opening of the strangest tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings.A mummy whose name has been erased and its soul bound by talismans of magical protection. An ancient Egyptian who was so feared that the priesthood thought they had to imprison his spirit for all time.It all sounds like fiction - but it's not.Each detail of the find is preserved in the writings of the archaeologists who found it and can still be read today.It is remarkable that no one has brought the details of this discovery to light before.This alone would make a great movie.But it's only the beginning.

His quest to discover the identity of this mummy and the reasons for its strange and unique form of burial, leads the author to make what must be the most astonishing series of discoveries about Egyptian history that have ever been made.Moses, the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea and the Exodus really occurred as described in the Bible.Beyond belief?Graham Phillips produces archaeological, historical and scientific evidence to prove it. This too would also make a fantastic movie in its own right.But it doesn't end there.The author discovers that these events were the result of a gigantic volcanic cataclysm that also created the legend of Atlantis.Another movie here!

Ultimately, Phillips returns to the mysterious mummy, concluding that it was the earthly remains of the man whose evil influence was deemed responsible for the catastrophe - a forgotten Egyptian king named Smenkhkare, the brother of Tutankhamun. Finally, he reveals the most incredible fact of all. The fabulous treasures found in Tut'stomb were originally intended for his brother's tomb and the death mask of Tutankhamun - probably the most famous historical artifact ever found - really bears the face of Smenkhkare - the most feared man in Egyptian history.Yet another movie!Why and how this came to be, would be giving away a nail-biting finale of this well-written, well-researched and page-turner of a book.

This book has been in publication for over a year.If it is not in pre-production for a big-budget movie by now I would be very surprised. I reckon that sometime in the next couple of years this will be a blockbuster to rival National Treasure.Remember who said it first.
... Read more

Product Description
Egypt occupies a central position in the Arab world. Its borders between sand and sea have existed for millennia and yet, until 1952, the country was ruled by foreigners. Afaf al-Sayyid Marsot explores the paradoxes of Egypt's history in a new edition of her successful A Short History ofModern Egypt. Charting the years from the Arab conquest, through the age of the Mamluks, Egypt's incorporation into the Ottoman Empire, the liberal experiment in constitutional government in the early twentieth century, followed by the Nasser and Sadat years, the new edition takes the story up to the present day. During the Mubarak era, Egyptians have seen major changes with the rise of globalization and its effects on their economy, the advent of new political parties, the entrenchment of Islamic fundamentalism and the consequent changing attitudes to women. This short history is ideal for students and travelers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Concise history of Egypt, but not intended as a tourist's book.
This is a concise history of Egypt that was just the right length (and physical size, for the carry-on bag) for a flight from the US to Egypt.Keep in mind, however, that it is not a tourist's book (it can't be used for planning day trips) and is a bit dry in writing style.A good book, though, well worth the price. ... Read more

Product Description
Despite being enmeshed in a culture steeped in technology and science, the magic and mysteries of the ancient world can still haunt our imagination. Through their architecture, artefacts and deeds, ancient cultures speak to us across thousands of dusty years—from the labyrinthine palace of Knossos on Crete and the lofty pyramids of Egypt to the remotest jungle temples of Peru and the megalithic mystery of Stonehenge.

Hidden History brings together a fascinating selection of these ancient enigmas, arranging them into three sections: Mysterious Places, Unexplained Artefacts, and Enigmatic People. You’ll discover fascinating facts about:• The Great Sphinx—Mysticism and archaeology collide in the ongoing debate over this enigmatic monument. • Mystery Hill—Who built the intriguing megalithic complex lying 40 miles north of Boston?• The Antikythera Mechanism—An ancient Greek computer found beneath the Aegean Sea.• The Giant Hill-Figures of England—The Uffington White Horse and other huge chalk figures cut into the English countryside thousands of years ago.• The Queen of Sheba—Clues to the real identity of this mighty ruler famous for her Biblical visit to King Solomon • Newgrange—Hundreds of years older than the Giza Pyramid and Stonehenge. Who were the builders of this Irish megalithic monument?

Hidden History fills the gap between archaeology and alternative history using the latest available data and a common sense, open-minded approach. The book discusses not only ancient history’s major mysteries, but also some of the puzzles of alternative history—like the "Coso Artefact," the possibility of ancient flight, and the mysterious "Voynich Manuscript"—as well as mysterious peoples from the Magi and the Druids to the Knights Templar and the Green Children.

With more than 50 photographs and illustrations, this is the ideal reference work for those interested in the archaeology of these great enigmas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

The history we didn't learn in school
Scholarly look at interesting history that we know very little about.Rather than sensationalistic, the author gives a balanced view, combining myth and modern thought - leaves conclusions to the reader.Highly recommended if you are interested in history.

Poorly written, poorly documented
I had expected perhaps 10-12 chapters with in-depth research.There are over 40.Each is about 5 pages or less.There is no real information here.It's clear that the book was both authored and published on the cheap.Don't buy it.

A Good Place to Start the Research
Brian Haughton has made an excellent work of compiling the basic facts around the ancient mysteries and secret knowledge topics.Because of the vast number of topics that he has covered in the book, I can imagine that a compromise had to be found in terms of length and depth.A pity that he didn't include more pictures and illustrations on the subjects, though.
All in all, a very good starting point for anyone wanting to research further on any of the presented topics.

Not much "hidden" history here.
If you're looking for those nuggets of history that conspiratorial political, social, and religious forces have attempted to bury or whitewash, don't look here. There really isn't much in this book that you wouldn't find in an encyclopedia entry. Although the author purports to be objective, it's pretty clear he's a skeptic. Not my idea of "hidden" history.If you want basic summaries of some controversial or historically intriguing topics, maybe this is your book. If you want substance I'd look somewhere else.

Good for Beginners
A good book for those with a beginning interest in hidden or alternative history.

If you are already a fan of alternative or hidden history books, this will probably be review. ... Read more

Product Description
This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Hopelessly unaware of history
The person who refers to himself as reader "July 8 2003" should stick to comic books and tabloids.He (or She) has no historical clue and was probably on drugs while reading Breasted.

To Call Tuthmosis III (who spread civilization into Asia among the savage Hittites) a mass murderer, displays the utmost ignorrance of the simplest facts of ancient history.The barbarians of Asia Minor raided cities, killed, maimed, raped and pillaged and it was the duty of any civilized King, from the Pharaohs down to the Romans, to restore order in the Empire and force civilization upon them.

I can understand our dislike for war in the 21st century; I am a pacifist myself.War is outdated like tooth extraction and limb amputation without anaesthesia, but 16 centuries before the birth of Christ life was different and thanks to Great rulers like Tuthmosis III, and Alexander the great, we can enjoy peace today.

For the love of God, read History from an historical standpoint not your own morality or else stick to watching Fox news.

Much Beloved
Back when I first read Breasted's history it was already 60 years old.I was 14and much enamored of this ancient culture that I knew mostly from horror movies and eerie museum displays.Cruising the library shelves I found this ponderous volume and dived into it.Starting a lifelong habit of always picking the heaviest book.Of course, the book was out of date then, and today it is more a document of the turn of the century mythology about ancient Egypt than it is anything that qualifies as 'history.'

And yet, in many ways it entirely changed the world of a fourteen year old child - whose horizons were suddenly broadened in a multitude of directions.Breasted bridges the gap between tedious academic history and popular and simpleminded glosses.He is always conscious that the facts he narrates are a telescopic look into a culture almost completely alien from what we are today.His simple, direct style has brought the old world alive for the curious for almost a century now.

If his thinking seems a bit naïve now, it is important to understand that there has been a wealth of discovery in the intervening years.And this book was one of the inspirations that fueled that pursuit of knowledge, drawing people's attention to the mysterious past, and inspiring countless readers to look further.Look elsewhere for accurate material, but come here to see ithe excitement in the archeologist's mind.

Hopelessly Outdated
Yes, it is a pleasant, lightweight read, but contrary to some of the other reviews here, this book is not "somewhat" outdated - - it is completely outdated.Anyone who knows anything about Ancient Egypt can just look at the inaccurate information in some of these reviews and see how misinformed readers of this book will be -- for example Thuthmosis III (the accepted "modern" spelling is Thutmose from the Egyptian transliteration, more closely Djehutymose) was not 4'6" -- that is a measurement of his mummy, minus his detached feet and lower legs. He more likely was about 5'6" tall, a very respectable height for an ancient Egyptian.As for Thutmose III being a "hero," this is a man who, solely for profit, invaded foreign countries, killing, maiming and plundering, carrying goods and slaves back to Egypt, leaving countless impoverished widows and orphans in his wake.It is so sad to think that a mass murderer is anyone's definition of a "hero."

Fascinating (but maybe outdated)
My copy is the Bantam 1964 reprint of the 1905 classic.Almost a hundred years old, this book still reads surprisingly easily.Whether it's out of date or not, I'm in no position to judge, not being an expert in this field.But I'd assume that a lot of archaeological discoveries must have been made in the last century to make this book somewhat obsolete.

Breasted was the first and foremost American Egyptologist, the founder of the prestigious Oriental Institute of Chicago (the premier archaeology academy in America - featured in Indiana Jones), and the first archaeologist elected to the National Academy of Sciences.(He was also a former President of the American Historical Association, and must have been the only person to have both honors.)I particularly like his opinions of Thuthmosis III, whose 3450th passing is today.

Two other books that may shed some light on the recent findings are "Egypt of the Pharaohs" by Sir Alan Gardiner and "The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt" edited by Ian Shaw.

A must.
See my review of A History of Egypt, vol 1. ... Read more

Product Description
For the ancient Egyptians, the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1700 BC) was a classical period of art, history and literature. The Twelfth Dynasty was one of the strongest ever to rule on the banks of the Nile: some of its kings were later worshipped as local gods, and were made famous by classical Greek authors. Yet Egyptologists tend not to look beyond the extraordinary royal sculpture and literary masterpieces of the time. Although the picture is fragmentary, as with any archaeological record, the last two hundred years of exploration and excavation have revealed much of the splendor of the period. This book examines the evidence for the culture, history and society of both central and provincial Egypt at the time, revealing the wealth of the entire country. Too often overshadowed by the better-preserved architecture of other periods, Middle Kingdom Egypt emerges for the reader as a fascinating age in its own right. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A thorough account.
Middle Kingdom Egypt is less well known than the other periods but author Grajetski gives the most thorough account of every aspect of life during this important transitional time, including Pharaohs and Dynasties, important officials, details of the life of the common people, archaeological sites, etc.He leaves no stone unturned and mines the data with great detail.I particularly loved his compendium on the nomes of ancient Egypt and their important Middle Kingdom population centers from Aswan to the Delta with commentary on temples and tombs found in each. This book left me with a much richer appreciation for the whole of Egyptology. A most enjoyable read if you are fascinated with life in Ancient Egypt!I would be sure to take it along on a tour up the Nile.

The Middle Kingdom - Unappreciated Glory

Many books have been written about Ancient Egypt. However, most of them cover either the Old Kingdom - that is the Pyramid Age, or the New Kingdom- the great Pharoahs like Thutmose III, Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III, Akhnaton and Rameses the Great.
This book is a comprehensive history of this underappreciated period in Egyptian history - the 11, 12th&13th dynasties.
The book starts with brief, concise summaries of the reign of each of the Pharoahs of the period, such as Montuhotep, and Amenemhet and Senusret, as well as summaries of the mysterious 13th dynasty, which is usually completely ignored in the history books.
Then the book starts in the South of Egypt, and works its way north, region ( called Nomes in Egyptian history) by region, summarizing all of the remains that can be found in this region which date to the Middle Kingdom.
Then the books concludes with a section on Egyptian society, including material on the King and his court, and some of the towns like Lahun.
This is a comprehensive, welcome addition to an armchair Egyptologists library.

A detailed and scholarly textual analysis that paints a vivid picture of a noble nation-state's vibrant past
The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt by Wolfram Grajetzki explores the era of the Middle Kingdom (2000-1700 BC), including its art, history, literature, the political achievements of the powerful Twelfth Dynasty, and the evidence modern archaeology has revealed about the culture, history, and society of provincial Egypt. A detailed and scholarly textual analysis that paints a vivid picture of a noble nation-state's vibrant past. ... Read more

Product Description
Each of these guides is full of lively answers to all those tricky questions about how the world works. Browsers and young students alike will enjoy these lively question-and-answer books with their unique mix of realistic illustrations, fun facts, and engaging cartoons.

Special Features
• Compact format—easy for small hands to carry
• Full of fascinating facts on everything a child may ask
• Text carefully pitched to the age level
• Factual material presented in a lively style
• High quality artwork with amusing cartoons ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Packed with Information
This book is written in a very informative manner.There is tons of information on each page both in the body of the text as well as on the side margins.The book's format is to ask questions and then answer them on the following page.Some of the illustrations are vivid and somewhat silly to appeal to younger readers.I enjoyed reading it to my young son because we were able to "discover" together.There were a lot of facts that I didn't know and this book helped make the information easier to understand.I would recommend this to a friend.

Perfect book for young kids.
My daughter is 5yrs old and enjoys egypt things right now. We are trying to find anything to keep her interest going. This book is perfect for little ones. The illustrations are colorful to keep the little ones interest peaked and not get bored fast and written so they can understand and still learn!

Great book for the curious kid!!
My daughter really wanted to dive into the whole egyptian thing. After going to the library and borrowing not so kid friendly books this was refreshing. Easy to read and fun facts.

Great for students
My students love this book.It gives them fun facts about Ancient Egypt in a way that is easy to understand.The students love looking at the pictures which draws them in to reading the text. ... Read more

Product Description
Volume 2 traces Egypt's modern history from the Ottoman conquest to the present day. Its conclusions reflect the work of older scholarship and indicate present trends and future directions in the historiography of Egypt. The volume's integrated coverage will make it an ideal reference tool for students, scholars and general readers. ... Read more

Product Description
Fabled for her sexual allure and cunning intelligence, Cleopatra VII of Egypt has fascinated generations of admirers and detractors since her tumultuous life ended in suicide in 30 B.C. The last of the Ptolemaic monarchs who had ruled Egypt for three centuries, Cleopatra created her own mythology. She became an icon in her own lifetime and a legend after her death.

This lavishly illustrated catalogue coincides with a major international exhibition celebrating images of Cleopatra. It explores how she was depicted during her own era, in works ranging from coins to life-size sculpture. Exciting new discoveries are featured--including seven Egyptian-style statues believed to represent Cleopatra, and two portraits probably commissioned while she was living in Rome with Julius Caesar. The book also examines interpretations of Cleopatra from the Renaissance to modern times, as seen in paintings, ceramics, jewelry, plays, operas, and film. In addition, recent archaeological finds from Alexandria (Cleopatra's capital) and from Rome illustrate aspects of life in Cleopatra's day.

October 20, 2001-March 2, 2002 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent primary resource on Cleopatra VII
This is THE book that try to find the real Cleopatra VII. It has tons of photographs on historical artificts, either they were real portraits of her, image inspired from her, or artificts long mis-identified the image as her, or the artificts from her time, this book carries the invaluable information that is hard to find them anywhere else. And this book carries scholars essays that analyse and discuss all the aspects about this famous pharaoh. Great refernece book for anyone who wants to find historical, non-fictional information about her.

Cleopatra Comes To Life Again, After 2000 Years
This book, I would say, is the best book I have read, (and that's a lot) on the Ptolemaic Period and Egypt's last and fateful Macedonian Queen, who died for her ambition, and desire to restore her country as major power. She was brave enough to challenge the enslaving and powerful force of Rome, and dreamed of an independant Egyptian Empire. But her attempt to achieve her goal cost her her life, and her country.
After her death, the Romans destroyed most representations of her. They overlooked, however, the many exquisite Egyptian-style statues of the queen, however, and instead destroyed what would have been the many classical depictions of her, which are lost to the Romans wrath. But fortunately, the Egyptian art survived the centuries, and with these gorgeous and mysterious representations of the living goddess herself, Susan Walker, with the help of the British Museum, has pieced together an accurate and enthralling portrait of her eventful life.
The sections, on subjects such as Alexandria, The Ptolemies, and Cleopatra and Rome, this book contains dozens of well-written and powerful essays on the monarch's life and relationship, and also Egypt at the time. Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of full color images of Egyptian style artwork depicting the queen, and also many statues of the people that influenced her life such as her lovers Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, and her nemesis, the enigma Octavian, later to be Augustus, the first emperor of Rome.
I recommend very strongly this book to anyone at all interested in Egyptian, Greek, or Roman history, and art. An unearthly account of the last years of Egyptian power.

Great resource for Cleopatra
If pressed, I'd almost say that this is the single best book on Cleopatra.Granted, there are critical biographies, historical accounts, and all sorts of other sources, but this massive book is unique in that it shows nearly every sculpture, coin, or papyrus that can be tied directly to Egypt's last independent ruler.Its fascinating to finally see how Cleopatra presented herself to her subjects -- in traditional Egyptian style for the local population, in Greek style to the Greco-Roman world at large.It's also sobering to see how little remains of her reign.The Romans went after her Greek-style statues, but since they didn't understand Egyptian art, many works of art in that style survive.Besides the impressive visuals, the book includes important essays on many different parts of Cleopatra's reign, life in Alexandria, and the legends that have swirled around Cleopatra after her death. A good comprehensive look at this famous queen, scholarly and readable.But boy, those visuals...! ... Read more

Product Description
The rich and extensive floodplain of the River Nile can claim to be the cradle of one of the earliest and most spectacular civilizations of antiquity. Ancient Egypt: a social history presents a fresh and innovative perspective on the ancient societies which flourished in the Nile Valley from the Predynastic period to the conquest by Alexander the Great. From the introduction of a subsistence economy through the establishment of the first agricultural communities to the development of urban centres and the political state, this volume traces the process of political, social and economic change. The emphasis on the social and economic aspects of Egyptian society and the integration of archaeological and historical data mark a new departure in Egyptian studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

excellent supplement
An excellent supplement to a course on Egyptian history, it should be used with a more politically focused book or by an instructor who likes to spend hours going through the rulers and the major political/military events. The book does concentrate on a few periods in Egyptian history, but thenthe evidence does not allow for much detail. Written in a fairly clearmanner, a good instructor will find it useful and students will find manysections of it more interesting than the lists of pharoahs. ... Read more

Product Description
Egypt, Greece, and Rome is a unique and comprehensive introduction to the ancient world's three major civilizations. The book draws a fascinating picture of the deep links between the cultures across the Mediterranean and explores the ways in which these civilizations continue to be influential to this day. Beginning with the emergence of the earliest Egyptian civilization around 3500 BC, Charles Freeman follows the history of the Mediterranean over a span of four millennia to AD 600, beyond the fall of the Roman empire in the West to the emergence of the Byzantine empire in the East. The author examines the art, architecture, philosophy, literature, and religious practices of each culture, set against its social, political, and economic background. Especially striking are the readable and stimulating profiles of key individuals throughout the ancient world, covering persons like Homer, Horace, the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and Alexander the Great. The second edition incorporates new chapters on the ancient Mediterranean and the Ancient Near East, as well as extended coverage of Egypt. Egypt, Greece and Rome is a superb introduction for anyone seeking a better understanding of the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean and their legacy to the West. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Superb
This book is an absolutely excellent introduction to The Ancients. Most of the concentration is given to Greek and Roman history but truly overall a magnificent first read to classical history (which is much missed in an engineering college!)

The World of Antiquity in One Volume
Charles Freeman's "Egypt, Greece and Rome" traces the ancient world from Egypt in the fourth millennium B.C. through the end of the Roman Empire.It looks at the major political and military events of early Western Civilization, but also describes some of the major scientific, philosophical, and literary achievements of antiquity and even looks at the daily life and religions of people in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

As one might expect, the volume reminds the reader just how much of our civilization descends from the three civilizations studied, as when it mentions that half of common English words have a Greek or Latin origin.The book is only about 700 pages, but seemed to cover the most important topics of the thousands of years of ancient history adequately.There is also a useful timeline/date list at the back of the book. General readers looking for a good one-volume study of the ancient world would likely be well satisfied with this book.

An absolutely overambitious book which manages to hit the mark.
I've owned this book for over a year now and still find it indispensable (I have highlighted and written in it to such an extent that I am probably the only person who can actually read my copy). Its span seems ridiculous for one book, even though it is pretty long (about 650 pages, plus an excellent 27 page time line), but it gives one a great understanding of the Mediterranean World's evolution, starting not only from Archaic Greece, the unification of Egypt and its First Dynasties, but from the earliest settlements, the earliest urban settlements, and earliest cities in the Ancient Near East, which of course set many precedents (if not THE precedent) for those civilizations after which the book is named. In fact, the initial chapter is an excellent, thorough -- yet still very nuanced and fascinating to read -- overview of the first cities and cultures that sprang up in that region, from the cities of Sumer and Uruk, to the Akkadians (and Sargon the Great, generally accepted as history's first emperor), the early Israelites, the Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, and all the way to the Achaemenid Persian Empire.

Conservative/orthodox views are presented alongside liberal views, and "revisionist" theories are -- refreshingly -- given equal credence as well. Many currently accepted consensuses about the Ancient World held by Classicists, Anthropologists, and Historians have traveled from (often laughable...) beginnings, and many of those evolutions are presented here in a way almost as interesting as the way in which the Roman Civil Wars are portrayed. If intrigued by a certain topic or period, the reader is constantly referred to the names of scholars and authors, both well-known and obscure, whose works they may also find interesting. While this is hardly revolutionary, it is VERY prevalent throughout this work. Hardly any alternative argument or contrary opinion pertaining to events is included without the person from which it originated.

If there is one strong point of this book that stands above the others, it is how accessible it is, while also being such a treasure of information. The sheer volume each chapter manages to say about its subject(s) without becoming a bland and simple chronology is simply amazing. One striking example of this accessibility is the treatment of the period that begins with the rise of Macedonia under Philip II, and ends after the conquests and death of Alexander. Despite the fact that this crucial topic in ancient history (which many have easily stretched out into often redundant works of several hundred pages) is mainly covered inside of 33 pages, it is one of the most informative and most evocatively written studies of the subject I have ever come across, and gives one plenty of insight into this moment in history. After reading it (and I had very little knowledge about Alexander's life at the time I bought this book, I'm ashamed to say), I felt as though I read a 300+ page piece: it is that concise and well written.

Do not be misled by the title and expect a strict format that dedicates one section to Egypt, one to Greece, and to for Rome. Though there are such sections, they are merely guidelines, and bits and pieces of each consistently creep into the others. The histories of all three (plus that of the Ancient Near East) are not presented as having occurred inside of a vacuum (as they too often are), but instead, as having developed alongside and with each other and other neighboring civilizations of the profoundly fluid Ancient Mediterranean World (perhaps the most concise chapter on anything that I have ever read is this book's short chapter on two of those lesser known, lesser appreciated cultures of the period, the Celts and Parthians, and what they contributed and took from surrounding cultures). There are wonderful profiles of the iconic figures from every conceivable aspect of the Ancient World: from the various schools of philosophy in Greece, the greatest minds of each, and their notable ideas; the great military leaders like Ramses II, Caesar, Pompey, Hannibal, Epaminondas, Pyrrhus, Philip, and Alexander; the most influential poets and playwrights, from Homer and Hesiod, Aeschylus and Aristophanes, to Catullus, Horace, and Virgil; the first men who seemed to have viewed history as a science, Herodotus, Thucydides, and much later, Polybius, who did explicitly think of both historiography, and what we might call political science, as sciences; and the political genius behind such larger than life figures as Cyrus the Great, Pericles, Cleisthenes, Cicero, Augustus, and Vespasian.

While the book typically does not delve into great detail when discussing important battles (e.g. how many troops on which side, nature of the terrain, strategies employed by the winners and losers, etc.), it seems insignificant given the attention and analytical thought given elsewhere (besides, one can often find great descriptions of famous battles on Wikipedia, in addition to just about every other history book).

In little over 600 pages, this book illustrates both Western and Near Eastern Civilization, from about 5000 BCE, the initial evolution of the settlement to the city state, the rise and fall of great empires long thought to be invincible, the dominance and demise of the Roman Republic, the dominance and demise of the Western Roman Empire, and the rise of Christianity and monotheism. This nearly perfect history begins its end with one of history's great turning points: the seventh-century war between the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius and the Sassanid Persian Shah Khusro II (and by proxy, the dominant monotheistic religions: the Orthodox Christianity of Constantinople and Zoroastrianism of Ctesiphon), in which Heraclius, against all odds, managed to save the Byzantine Empire, defeat the Sassanids, and retake critical territory in the Near East (most importantly Jerusalem, along with Christendom's most venerated relic, the True Cross, which he brought back to Constantinople after a triumph through the Holy City's streets).

As centuries of war between the Mediterranean's two superpowers finally seemed to be over, the Muslim armies of Arabia came, driven by their own monotheistic faith, and united by intense religious fervor. Soon Palestine and Syria were lost (this time, forever), and the Sassanid Empire fell after being soundly defeated by the Muslim forces; soon Alexandria too fell, followed by all other Roman/Byzantine lands in North Africa.

However, the book does not end on this note in order to provide a catastrophic ending to what we consider the picturesque, classic, ancient world. Instead, these events and their aftermath are used to reinforce and continue its main theme: the ever-fluid nature of the Ancient Mediterranean World. Greek culture proved to be profoundly important to the early Muslim armies and empires, the leaders of which -- especially early on -- depended on their new Greek neighbors to aid them in administering their new cities. Likewise, because non-Orthodox Christians in these cities faced persecution under Byzantine rule, in many cases they and the Jewish populations (who, obviously, also faced persecution) welcomed their new rulers; many cities, including Jerusalem, had willfully, even gladly, accepted Muslim rule without resistance (many Christians are said to have actually fought with the Muslim armies against the Byzantines). The Arab rulers, whose people had always been on the outskirts of the Ancient Mediterranean World, were now fully engaged, and -- like so many other empires and civilizations who took from and contributed to that very world -- within a century had done away with much of their old ways, particularly the Bedouin tradition of oral transmission and memorization, which grew from the necessities and limitations of desert life, and embraced the options and ideas which other cultures presented to them. There was an explosion of literacy among the previously-illiterate Arabs, and by the ninth-century, many sophisticated Greek works of medicine, philosophy, and mathematics, which had long been neglected by an increasingly scripture-centric Byzantine culture, were translated into Arabic, and thus spurred a renaissance among Muslim scholars. Soon, the Muslim world was the center of the sciences, where the ideas of Classical Greece thrived, and where the ideas of the great minds of antiquity were debated, built upon, and above all, revived in a manner "that was not possible in the Christian world." (p.648) Indeed, it is commonly accepted among historians that had the Muslim armies never conquered those Byzantine lands, many works of the ancient Greek philosophers and scientists, of which we are today so familiar, would likely not have survived.

This book gets my highest possible recommendation, simply for being a work of comparative history at its finest. Throw in the fantastic and informative maps (32 in all), beautiful plates (80 in all), its consistently nuanced tone, and a study of power politics in the ancient world that would make Polybius proud, and it becomes a must buy for anyone merely slightly interested in history. And again, this is a book which just about anybody can pick up and enjoy. The casual reader will take away from it not only a great amount of knowledge regarding the beginnings of each "civilization" of the ancient Mediterranean, but also new perspective into how much each owes -- to this day -- to each other.

excellent read in ancient history
This is a great intro book on ancient civilizations around the mediterranean. While the subtitle is Egypt, Greece & Rome, the author goes into other, older and more distant cultures as well. The chapters are short and leisurely - you get a good feel for each section without being buried in details.

Egypt, Greece, Rome
This book was one of the required texts for a course I took on ancient history. Egypt, Greece and Rome was the perfect text, because the book reads as a narrative; nothing in Charles Freeman's book is boring or dry. It covers Mesopotamia from 5000 BC up through the emergence of the Byzantine Empire in the fifth century AD. This book is the key to understanding ancient history, and I highly reccomend it.

Plus, there are a number of black and white and full-color plates, plus some in-text drawings and maps. ... Read more

Product Description
An illustrated history ranging from prehistory to the time of ancient Egypt, with a fictional story involving children to depict the period. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

OK but there are better books & values out there.
Truthfully, I was a little disapointed with this.I am homeschooling my 6 yr old daughter and we are doing a unit on "cavemen" before we start history studies with the ancient Egyptians.This book is thin.Physically as well as in content.A much better choice is the Make It Work series - Stone Age.I got this book because it was for a younger age range than most books about the Stone Age, which have an age range of 9-12.That was the mistake.Even at age 6 my kid understands the higher age range books.True, I had to explain some words and paraphrase some passages, but isn't that part of teaching. My advise is don't get dumbed downed books.Get books that are well written and interesting.The explanations you have to give are where alot of learning takes place. ... Read more

Product Description
In ancient Egypt women enjoyed a legal, social and sexual independence unrivalled by their Greek or Roman sisters, or in fact by most women until the late nineteenth century. They could own and trade in property, work outside the home, marry foreigners and live alone without the protection of a male guardian. Some of them even rose to rule Egypt as 'female kings'. Joyce Tyldesley's vivid history of how women lived in ancient Egypt weaves a fascinating picture of daily life - marriage and the home, work and play, grooming and religion - viewed from a female perspective, in a work that is engaging, original and constantly surprising. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

This book
This book is one more evidence of the civility of ancient Egyptians. In short, women in ancient Egypt were treated equally to men. Actually, the ancient Egyptians believed that the royal blood flows through princesses rather than princes.

Girl power made in Egypt
"Daughters of Isis" is a book about everything you ever wanted to know about ancient Egyptian women, but were too prudish to ask!

Joyce Tyldesley has written an excellent overview of the subject. Her book is directed at a general audience and hence relatively easy to read, but could be used by serious students as well. It's packed with information about the daily life of women in ancient Egypt, but also contain more general information about ancient Egyptian society. No detail is too insignificant: we learn about Egyptian eating habits, women's clothes and jewellery, wigs and the art of brewing Nubian beer. Unfortunately, the author can neither confirm nor deny the curious claim by Herodotus that female Egyptians urinated in standing position, while male Egyptians did it sitting down! Of course, the book also deals with more important (?) matters, such as the careers of the few women who managed to become pharaohs.

What strikes the modern reader most is the sexually liberated atmosphere of Pharaonic Egypt, sometimes bordering the decadent. Premarital sexual relations were not prohibited for either sex, Egyptian women could marry foreigners, both incest and polygamy were practiced, foreign slaves were sometimes married to daughters of their masters, and public nudity or half-nudity (even for women) were acceptable in certain contexts. Naturally, prostitution was rampant. Even the gods of the Egyptian religion were seen as sexual creatures. Homosexuality seems to have been one of the few sexual practices that were frowned upon.

Interestingly, however, adultery was severely punished. This strikes the modern observer as somewhat inconsistent, especially given that divorce was relatively easy to obtain and premarital sex wasn't prohibited. But then, what civilization isn't contradictory?

Another striking trait of ancient Egypt is the relatively large freedom enjoyed by the women. They could divorce their husbands, own and inherit property, didn't need a male guardian, and had the right to take legal action. Much of the local trade and barter was carried out by women, and Tyldesley also suggests that divorced women got custody of their children. If the house was owned by the wife, the husband had to move out in case of divorce! While Egypt was overall a patriarchal society, the women nevertheless enjoyed a degree of freedom unknown in Rome, Greece or the Near East. Incidentally, "Daughters of Isis" mentions the Greek and Roman periods in Egyptian history mostly in passing, so there is nothing about Cleopatra in this book.

Of course, one should bear in mind that the freedom and influence of women would have been relative to their rank. Peasants of both sexes were subject to heavy taxation and forced labour, and it's safe to assume that the position of female slaves or prostitutes was even worse. Upper class women could become supervisors, priestesses and (if exceptionally lucky) queens, and therefore had more absolute freedom than those lower down on the social scale. (In Greece, even upper class women were oppressed.)

The obvious question is: why did Egyptian women enjoy an amount of freedom unknown elsewhere during Antiquity? The author cannot really answer this, since she rejects the existence of an ancient matriarchy. Nor does she believe that matrilinearity implies female power. Tyldesley is therefore forced to see the relative freedom of ancient Egyptian women as an "innovation" or "concession", and rather unconvincingly connects it to the abundant agricultural resources and the rigid caste system. A more reasonable explanation would be that Egyptian society was indeed a survival of more matrilinear models which did imply female power. Other African societies seem to have combined hierarchic class structures with a large influence for women. Perhaps the African roots of ancient Egypt can explain its curious gender roles?

Despite this obvious shortcoming, I nevertheless recommend this book to everyone interested in ancient Egypt. As already mentioned, it's relatively easy to read, deals with pretty much everything, and describes a society more women-friendly than "the glory that was Greece" or "the grandeur that was Rome". Not to mention the Book of Leviticus...

Women's life in ancient Egypt
This is an exhaustive attempt to depict the lives of women in ancient Egypt.It is compiled mostly from primary sources, contemporary observations, and some references to papers published in the last decade.Many of the observations are assumptions from legal records and comparisons to what is known about the of contemporary women in other Mediterranean cultures.While being an academic work, it is an easy read and clearly was written for non academics. Recommended for the curious and introductory reading for this area of expertise.

Good Read
I found this book easy to read and interesting. I have several Joyce Tyldsley books and I have yet to be disappointed.

Informative
Daughters of Isis is a very informative book. There were times when I felt that the author was either drawing conclusions from thin air or repeating information to pad the book but these offenses are out numbered by the many fascinating illustrations and quotes from ancient texts. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (11)

A good journalistic (not scientific) contemporary account
The book has some extremely interesting anecdotes that give you a good perspective on Egypt and it dwells on some really interesting topics. My only problem with the book is, that Bradley thinks that he knows the solution to all Egypt's problems, and that the only problem is that the American and the Egyptian governments are ignorant (unlike him), and therefor don't get it.

Inside Egypt
The book described in detail the history of Egypt under the military junta that seized power since 1954, after the removal of democracy advocate Muhammad Naguib, the first president of Egypt. Nasser regime crushed all the Egyptian oppositions, and forces many of them to leave Egypt. Even after the 1967 war he continue his policies including the dismissal of over a hundred sitting judges referred to as the massacre of the judiciary because of their opposition to the regime. The current situation in Egypt can be compared to that of Spain during the last period of Franco rule. The author discusses in details the current Egyptian political scene and the main players. The mystery about Mubarak successor and the army reaction to this selection is a major factor that will shape the future of Egypt. This is one of best books about Egypt current political scene and I highly recommend.Regarding the comments that Egyptians are anti-Western or anti-America is not true, the main thing that Egyptians wish to have is a functional democratic system and their hate is directed at their government that failed to deliver.

Bradley does it again
I am a college student studying the Middle East and I was in Model UN group and was Saudi Arabia when I firs discovered Bradley. That book gave great insight that helped my debating at the conference. Now he has come back with an even better book about a more important country, I would argue at least, with "Inside Egypt." He discusses many topics that are prevalent in Egypt and are rarely discussed in Egypt on any public forum. This gives you great insight to a country that in due time will become one of many forms, depending on how much deeper the problems get, which from the likes of it is very far.

Egypt:Just What You'd Expect
John R. Bradley's 'Inside Egypt' is a journalistic account of contemporary Egypt.It is interesting but hardly surprising.At great length, using multiple examples, it tells us what we already knew about Egypt.Egypt is a poor nation, becoming more radically Islamist each passing day, governed by a corrupt, incompetent and selfish regime which strangles reform and resists change.

For the most part, Bradley eschews analysis for reporting, but what he reports about is depressingly self evident given the general outline.Many of the chapters come with self explanatory titles - "Torture" and "Corruption", for example.Minorities, whether the Bedouin (in Sinai) or the Copts (in Egypt proper), are abysmally treated.

There is an interesting chapter, euphemistically titled "Lost Dignity", about the Egyptiam sex industry in its various forms, particularly in that of the "marriage" of Old Western ladies to younger Egyptians, and of male prostitution.It is possibly the most penetrating part of Bradley's book, because it shows that even sex work is shaped by the cultural and religious beliefs of the Egyptians.Even as they make their livelihood from sex, Egyptians maintain a semblance, no matter how twisted, of traditional gender roles and sexual mores.

But for Westerners, most interesting is the political agenda.And Bradley is in a catch 22:his instinct, as summarized by a blurb contribution from the managing editor of Foreign Affair, is to "love [the] country but hate [the] regime".Bradley's sympathies are clearly with the Egyptian people, and against Hosni Mubarak and his government.But as Bradley acknowledges, the Egyptian people are considerably more anti-Western than the regime.The most popular Middle East leaders are Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Mahmood Ahmadinejad, the radical president of Iran (p. 89).As Bradley puts it, "The sickness... runs not just through the system but through the whole of society" (p.145).

The Egyptian people are against America, and who can blame them?Their dictatorial government is an American dependency.Being subordinate to the United State is an affront to the Egyptian's pride; Being repressed by America's agent is a legitimate grievance.

And of course, the Mubarak regime encourages the antagonism.It allows the fundamentalist Muslim Brothers opposition some freedom, while suppressing the secular democratic opposition.This has several advantages - it creates the illusion of openness, gives the Islamists a reason to cooperate with the state, and most importantly, offers leverage against the United States.

Because, as Bradley acknowledges, in the Middle East, the United States' foreign policy is aimed at attaining two mutually exclusive goals:democracy and stability.But these can not be achieved simultaneously.If America were to pressure Egypt to democratize, it would undermine Egypt, and thus the entire Middle East.

(The fact that Bradley identifies the trade off is significant in and of itself.Some Middle East expert think you can have you cake and eat it too.See for example Amitai Etzioni's Security First: For a Muscular, Moral Foreign Policy)

Between stability and democracy, Bradley is firmly on the side of the latter."Washington must think long term" (p. 227).

But as John Maynard Keynes reminded us, in the long run, we're all dead.What Bradley does not stress is that Egypt is a spectacular case of successful American diplomacy.For a relatively cheap 2 billion U$ annually, America has got the traditional Arab powerhouse as a staunch allay.For over thirty years, Egypt has been in peace with Israel;It is a moderate force in Arab politics and an ally in the so-called "War on Terror".

This comes at the expense of the Egyptian people, who live under a brutal dictatorship.But America's foreign policy is aimed at promoting the welfare of Americans, not Egyptians.And even if America wanted to do something to democratize Egypt, it can't.Pressure on the regime would only make Egypt uncooperative; Egypt would give a freer hand to its local al-Qaeda supporters and diminish cooperation in the struggle against terrorism.Egypt's president would make anti American statements and increase his popularity.And if America were to gamble with its national security interests in pursuit of Egyptian democracy, it would risk an Iranian style Islamist revolution in Egypt, which would make Egypt's liberal forces nostalgic to Mubarak's autocracy.

The only reason America should change course in its Egyptian policy is if changed circumstances require rethinking that policy.Bradley's most bizarre notion is that Egypt is nearing the end of a 30 years cycle of relative unrest, and is facing a period of tribulations like the ones it faced in the 1920s, 1950s and 1970s.This is mistaking a coincidence for a pattern.

A more likely source of instability in the regime is the possibility of a succession crisis when Hosni Mubarak (aged eighty), departs the scene, and his son Gamal takes over.But recent generational changes in Morocco and in Syria went smoothly enough, and the presidency moved between Egypt three post revolution presidents (Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak) without incident.

History tells us that dictatorships, no matter how strong they look, are brittle things.They may collapse without warning.Yet in a region full of extreme and dangerous enemies, Egypt's dictatorship, against the wishes of Egypt's people, remains an American ally.Supporting a pro-American autocracy in Egypt is a necessary evil.

Egypt today
A great read for Anyone who wants to know the state of Egypt today. Banned in Egypt for that reason?? ... Read more

Product Description
The Complete History of Costume and Fashion is a comprehensive illustrated guide to the history of clothing and fashion. At different times in history, fashionable dress has taken very different forms. From the first fashion style of the Egyptians to the extravagant clothes of the Romans, from the birth of the Dandy to haute couture in the twentieth century, this book chronicles the evolution of style for both males and females from a social, cultural, and historical perspective.

Organized by specific time periods, coverage includes:
The Ancient Egyptians: Noble garments, wigs and hairpieces, eye make-up, jewelry
Greece and Rome: Classical elegance, the Etruscan wardrobe, bright colors, the toga
Middle Ages: Medieval Europe and Byzantine fashion, age of chivalry, trains and sleeves
Early Renaissance: Damask, taffeta, velvet, tight-fitting bodices
Sixteenth Century: Flowering of the arts, science and fashion, doublets and ruffs, bodices
Seventeenth Century: Influence of the Baroque, ribbons and embroidery, wigs for men
Eighteenth Century: Extravagance and excess, masks, buckled shoes, three-cornered hats, hoop skirts
Nineteenth Century: Victorian values, crinolines and bustles, artificial hair color, double-breasted jackets
Twentieth Century: The age of diversity, global style, mini-skirts, supermodels, street fashion, new fabrics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

mixed feelings
So, I gave this book 3 stars because I couldn't figure out how to do 2 1/2. Mixed feelings. On the plus side, I really enjoyed the pictures and some of the book was informative.
On the minus side, I feel that the author may have just peiced this book together too quickly without doing her research. Some of her dates for different eras were wrong. And while she may have an interest in fashion, part of fashion history is HISTORY, which she doesn't seem to have a grasp on. This was evident in the beginning right from the chapter on egypt. I kept cringing every time she confused Nefertiti for Nefertari, it made me wonder what else in the book she got wrong.

I definately would not recomend this book to anyone that already has a lot of knowledge of fashion history, her inaccuracies will probably piss you off (and her partiality to Byzantium).
I also would not recomend this book if you are just getting started in studying fashion history because why start out with misinformation.
But if you are like me, neither an expert or compkete novice, you don't work in the industry, like me you are just obsessed with clothes, and if you find this book on sale for less than 5 dollars, have at it(really, don't pay more than 5).

Amazing, Colorful and Bright
This book is a truly dazzling feast for the eyes and would be a perfect addition to anyone's coffee table collection.I bought this booking thinking that it was more like a textbook and have found it to be much much more.Full size colorful illustrations make for very interesting and stimulating viewing.

One of the worst I've ever seen
The information is just plain wrong in hundreds of instances and the images and text are frequently not connected.In general if a book says it is a Complete History of Costume from the dawn of time to yesterday, it is probably to be avoided, but this one is truly, truly bad!

There is nothing complete about this book.
The most complete book of History of Costume I have found is "Survey of Historic Costume" by Phyllis Tortora and Keith Eubank. The title of this book "The Complete..." and the lack of content simple don't belong together.

This book is a beginners basic introduction to costume. It needs to be reviewed and mistakes need to be fixed.

didn't like it
There are cool pictures and all but seriously you cannot cover the whole egyptian, etruscan, greek...periods in 3-4 pages. The book plainly describes what people were wearing in these periods (and it does not give you the complete info) and it does not tell you much about the story behind these costumes which I found pretty lame. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent
I used this book to write up a social studies unit focusing on Ancient Egypt for 6th graders. Although the text is easily understood by lower grades the information in here is excellent. This book allows students to really step into a different time period and experience a different culture altogether.

excellent, interesting book
We got this book in advance of a family trip to Egypt.The information appears in an accessible and colorful way; any child (or adult) will learn a lot about many aspects of ancient Egyptian culture, without feeling lectured. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

The Complete Guide to Alexandria
This final volume of the Abinger Edition for the first time ever brings together two books written by E. M. Forster during the four years he spent in Alexandria. The first of them is a history and a guide to the city - a book which justly enjoyed a reputation for rarity as its first edition was largely destroyed (well, you have to look into the book to know the whole story) and which has since its publication (more likely since its republication in 1938) enjoyed the reputation of one of the more authoritative histories of Alexandria. The second of them is a collection of literary and historical essays which elaborate on various Alexandrian subjects - from Alexander the Great and the Ptolemys to Cavafy.
The first book is serious work of scholarship although the personal touch of EMF is hard to miss anyway. The second is much lighter in tone, much more fanciful but serves as a perfect addition to the first one. Together they combine to offer a marvelous introduction to the fascinating city of Alexandria. If you happen to be heading in this direction you can ask for no better guide that E. M. Forster.

a rare delight
Marvelously written, carefully researched, this is an outstanding book for anyone interested in Foster or Alexandria.And just about anyone can learn much: an interesting example is what Foster says about Hypatia [the women philospher brutally killed by monks]: she was not young and probably not much of a philosopher; yes, Foster offers new perspectives on various currents in Alexandria. ... Read more

Product Description
A text which shows how to make a range of authentic-looking crafts, jewellery and toys from ancient Egypt, revealing what everyday life was like for the ancient civilisation.Illustrated in full colour throughout. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the better Egyptian craft books
We checked out every Egyptian craft book from our library for a homeschool unit (grade 5, and this was among the top 3 that we actually used.The projects in this book are not cute crafts like in many of the other books; they can be used to really help understand the history.Our favorite project in this book was the "corn husk ball."The ball core is made out of corn husks, wrapped with twine, and covered with felt sections that are sewn together (we used leather for a more authentic ball).I love that the book makes an attempt to replicate actual objects while still using readily available materials.I gave it only 4 stars because the book is really just the projects without much background information or examples of the original projects these might be based on.

Other projects include: a paper-mache mummy, a wall frieze, beaded collar, sandpaper pyramid (this would be a great model for a report, it opens so you can look inside), tools of the scribe, a papyrus reed boat (this is the best model boat design I have seen, it gives an idea of the challenges Egyptians would have faced, as well as the actual construction of tying the bundles of reeds together), a scarab seal, a sistrum, a royal cartouche, a paddle doll, and King Tut's headdress.

Most of the projects in this book would be best suited to kids 9 to 12, although older kids interested in Egypt could still find value in it.Younger kids would most likely need some assistance.My 7 year-old did many of the projects with us and did need help (he lost interest in sewing the ball pieces together and tying the reed bundles of the boat), but enjoyed the end results.

For anyone looking for additional resources that are more than toilet paper tube arm cuffs and construction paper collars, I suggest you also try: Great Ancient Egypt Projects You Can Build Yourself (Build It Yourself series; [[ASIN:0471290068 Spend the Day in Ancient Egypt: Projects and Activities That Bring the Past to Life (Spend The Day Series; and if cooking is your thing, [[ASIN:0313332045 C... is awesome (but pricey), especially if you will also be studying other ancients like the Greeks and Romans.We held a "feast day" at the end of our unit and the kids loved the food!They are now asking for these recipes again! ... Read more