Ancient Egypt edited by David P Silverman. A clearly written and vividly illustrated EGYPT guide to the main themes of the ancient Egyptian world, including reli- gion, art and architecture, the lives of the pharaohs and the lower classes, and Egyptian language. Highly suitable for all readers with a general inter- Ancient Egypt est in Egypt. 256p, many illus (Piatkus 1997) Hb £25.00 Egypt: Splendours of an Ancient Civilization Egypt by Alberto Siliotti. This is a stunning large-format book that introduces by Vivian Davies and Renée Friedman. This exciting and accessible book the general reader to 5,000 years of Egyptian history through colour makes it clear that new discoveries are continually emerging from a land photographs and reconstructions of the ancient sites, artworks and monu- where one might have assumed that the treasure trove of archaeological ments of the pharaohs. Each location covered by the book, including finds had long been exhausted. Plentiful illustrations accompany a text Giza, Saqqara, Luxor, and the Valley of the Kings, is illustrated by a site that illuminates old questions and addresses issues such as: Is the Egyptian plan and photographs of principal structures and objects from the sites. hieroglyphic system older even than the Mesopotamian script? Did Egyp- Themes, such as gods, hieroglyphics and archaeological discovery, are also tian pharaohs order the robbing of their ancestors’ tombs? How is scien- clearly explained and illustrated. 290p, over 300 illus, 272 in col (Thames and tific research on ancient mummies contributing to modern medicine? 222p, Hudson 1994, Pb 2002) Hb £32.00, Pb £19.95 many col and b/w illus (BMP 1998, rep 1998, Pb 1999) Pb £15.99 Egypt from the Air Egypt and the Egyptians text by Max Rodenbeck, photographs by Guido Alberto Rossi. This by D J Brewer and Emily Teeter. This concise introduction to the culture beautiful book takes the reader on a colourful tour of Egypt, beginning of ancient Egypt incorporates new research to give an exciting, modern with 19th-century representations of monuments, towns and landscapes insight into the lives of ordinary Egyptians, far removed from the dra- and followed by large photographs of the monuments today. Succeeding matic lives of their well-recorded rulers. Includes the chronology and sections present images of medieval and modern Cairo, the Nile, the geography of Egypt, politics, religion, society, art and literature, and the desert and the sea, all from the air and accompanied by short histories and technological achievements of craftsmen and inventors. The final chapter descriptions. Spectacular. 208p, many col pls (Thames and Hudson 1991, rep surveys the transformation of Egypt into a Roman colony. Readable and 1993, 2000) Hb £28.00 up-to-date, with many diagrams, maps and suggestions for further reading. Eternal Egypt 218p, 23 b/w pls (Cambridge UP 1999) Hb £45.00, Pb £15.95 by Pierre Montet. The overall aim of this study of Ancient Egypt is to The Egyptians portray the development and relevance of aspects of life in Egypt. by Cyril Aldred, revised by Aidan Dodson. A newly revised and updated Religion, art, politics, subsistence and other issues are discussed in detail. edition of Cyril Aldred’s classic book. The text retains its original lucidity, Problems of dynastic succession, histories of individual pharaohs and while new discoveries and ideas have been included, the dating revised, Egyptian conventions are all discussed. A readable and entertaining new photographs added and the bibliography expanded. 224p, 139 illus introduction, this books is a welcome diversion from other accounts that (Thames & Hudson 1961, 3rd edn 1998) Pb £9.95 utilise the framework provided by dynastic succession to discuss only ancient Egyptian history. 338p, 58 b/w figs (Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1964, The Egyptians Phoenix Pb edn 2000) Pb £16.99 edited by Sergio Donadoni. Did you know that Egyptian peasants could Egypt: Land of the Pharaohs not afford burial, their bodies instead being abandoned on the desert fringe? This collection of eleven essays includes studies of ancient Egyp- edited by Klaus Schulz and Matthias Seidel. A huge and lavishly illustrated tians and their trade – slaves, craftsmen, priests, bureaucrats, the pharaoh, book with an authoritative text presenting the art and architecture of peasants and women, and many others. Each chapter incorporates a huge ancient Egypt, its pharaohs, society, and religion. Includes a glossary of amount of historical detail which is both informative and interesting. terms, lists of gods, historic sites, museum collections, rulers, chronology Taken as a whole, the book creates a wider picture of Egyptian culture, and bibliography. In terms of value for money, this book can not be state and society and the role of these people within this structure. 361p beaten. 537p, b/w and col pls (Könemann 1998) Hb £19.99 (Chicago UP 1997) Hb £43.50, Pb £14.50 The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt The Egyptians edited by Ian Shaw. A single volume, up-to-date history of Egypt which by Barbara Watterson. This book is unique in two ways. Firstly, it traces the presents the development of Egypt’s different civilisations from the early history of Egypt all the way from the Palaeolithic to 1996. Secondly, it Stone Age through to the Romans. The chapters are arranged by period places Egypt in its African context, showing how the geography and cli- and cover many different subjects, including architecture, religion, funerary mate have influenced Egyptian history, and how contacts with lands fur- beliefs, ethnicity and much more. With many chronological tables, further ther south have been as important as with the Mediterranean. An expert reading, sources and a comprehensive index. 512p, 39 col pls, many b/w overview of the long-term trends in Egyptian history. 346p, 28 b/w pls (The illus, maps (Oxford UP 2000, Pb 2002) Hb £30.00, Pb £15.00 Peoples of Africa, Blackwell 1997, Pb 1998) Hb £55.00, Pb £17.99 The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt by Bill Manley. Want to trace the probable routes of armies in the 10th by Barbara Watterson. Neither comprehensive, nor a reference book, but nomes Dynasty Wars of Reunification? Need to identify the administrative as a readable and accessible outline to the study of ancient Egypt, this little of the New Kingdom? The answers are contained in the well-presented book cannot be beaten. Fitting neatly into a pocket, it provides a reign-by- maps of this handbook. With over sixty full-colour maps, and concise reign history of Egypt from the prehistoric period to the conquest of descriptions of the chronological periods and main events in Egyptian Alexander the Great in 332 BC. The chapters deal with culture, religion, history, this is an invaluable geographical companion to the study of an- art and literature, as well as social conditions and political developments. 143p, maps, 70 col & b/w pls (Penguin 1996) Pb £9.99 cient Egypt. An excellent starting point. 108p (Sutton 1998) Pb £5.99 The Civilization of Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization by Paul Johnson. An updated edition of Johnson’s broad sweep through by Barry Kemp. Histories of Egypt drawing on literary and pictorial sources Egyptian history. Beginning with the origins of the Egyptian civilisation have often portrayed the country as culturally conservative whereas ar- and the initial unification of the state, religion and culture, Johnson chaeological evidence, which is the main source for this book, reveals an focuses on a number of general themes which illustrate social, political entirely different picture, highlighting processes of quite rapid change, as and economic changes throughout three thousand years of history. Subjects administrative structures strove to keep pace with a growing, and often include hieroglyphs and writing, death and religious beliefs, the power of rebellious, population. Barry Kemp is a prominent fieldworker and much 256p, many b/w and the pharaoh, art and much more. Lavishly illustrated. of the book collates his theories on the site of Amarna, capital city of the col pls (Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1978, 1999, Seven Dials/Cassell Pb 2000) Pb heretic pharaoh Akhenaten (1352-1336 BC), and a city occupied for only £14.99 25-30 years. ‘Kemp’s study is perhaps the most provocative, thoughtful, The Experience of Ancient Egypt and outstanding synthesis on ancient Egypt available in the English by Rosalie David. A comprehensive study of Egypt, from its classical language…this book will stand for decades as an essential introduction to roots, through the decipherment of hieroglyphics to the most up-to-date all interested specifically in ancient Egypt, as well as those interested in archaeological and scientific techniques applied to the study of Egyptology. general archaeology and ancient history’ – Choice. 368p, 103 figs (Routledge 232p, 14 figs, 25 b/w pls (Routledge 1999) Hb £40.00 1992, rep 1998) Pb £18.99 1 EGYPT The Secret Lore of Egypt: Its Impact on the West Encyclopedias and Dictionaries by Erik Hornung, translated by David Lorton. Western culture regularly Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt adopts and appropriates themes and motifs from ancient Egyptian art, by Morris L Bierbrier. This concise and cross-referenced dictionary of religious practices, and literature. Hornung here looks at the history of significant events, people and places from Ancient Egypt is aimed at the one aspect of this process, the idea of ancient Egypt as the source of Egyptologist and the curious alike. The entries draw on all aspects of esoteric lore and traces the influence of the esoteric image of Egypt on Egyptian society including architecture, art and religion, placing the European intellectual history from antiquity to the present, from Gnostic subjects in their historical context.