A History of Ancient Egypt, 2nd Edition (Blackwell History of the Ancient World) Paperback – January 26, 2021

328 pages of text/figures/maps; 3 page preface; 11 page Guide to Further Reading; 3 page Glossary; 19 page Bibliography; 7 useful maps; and 93 figures (B&W photos & line drawings). Boxed "Special Topics," "Key Debates," and "Sources in Translation" texts. Chapter Headings are (in somewhat abbreviated form): Introductory Concerns; The Formation of the Egyptian State; The Great Pyramid Builders; The End of the Old Kingdom and the First Intermediate Period;The Middle Kingdom; The Second Intermediate Period and the Hyksos; The Birth of Empire; The Amarna Revolution; The Ramessid Empire; The End of Empire; The Third Intermediate Period; Egypt in the Age of Empires; Greek and Roman Egypt; and, Epilogue. The Preface indicates that the intention of the book is to be a textbook for an undergraduate course in Egyptian history.The book is very well written and detailed for its length. The text flows well and keeps the reader's attention. The text boxes on Special Topics, Debates, and Sources highlight and bring focus to a number of issues. I felt that it was well worth the cost and taught a lot about Ancient Egypt in a systematic way rather than the collection of factoids I had gathered from other sources. One quibble - Figure 12.4 on page 288 is supposed to be a photo of a relief sculpture per the caption. It actually appears to be a photo of a 19th - 20th century [AD not BC] oil painting of a little girl. I'm sure the undergrads the author teaches let him know this.

For the enthusiast, this is a huge book, with a complete variety of ancient Egyptian texts of all types, in one place. Highly recommended.Lots of stories, narratives and tales, some of which I'd never heard of before.If it's your thing, highly recommended.

well priced, well made, fit the bill,

Dislike.

I purchased this to get a refresher on ancient Egypt. The author has a very well structure presentation and also manages to fill in many of the gaps in other such books. This is an excellent introduction and summary.The book presents each of the know time periods describing the people, politics, rulers and advancements. It allows the reader to get an excellent overview while providing the details necessary for a clear understanding. I would highly recommend this for an introduction as well as an update.