The Egyptians. An Introduction

by Alan H. Gardiner

A well-researched Cambridge University Press book by Sir Alan Gardiner. The author wanted to write from his lifelong studies, a book that is not only informative, but also written from a philosophical point of view. Anyone interested in Egypt will be pleased with this book.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2002

About the author

Sir Alan H. Gardiner was one of the premier Egyptologists of the early twentieth century. He is probably best remembered for two of his books, Egypt of the Pharaohs, and Egyptian Grammar which is considered to be among the best works in the field of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

His interest in Egypt started at an early age. He began his education at Charterhouse and was sent to Paris for a year to study under Gaston Maspero, whom he had come to admire after reading a book he had written. Unfortunately, Maspero’s lectures did not live up to Gardiner’s expectations. From Paris, he traveled to England and attended The Queen’s College at Oxford. There he earned a second in Classical Moderations in 1899, and a first in Hebrew and Arabic in 1901. Gardiner was married that year to Hedwig von Rosen, with whom he had two sons and a daughter.

Reviews

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find the history of Egypt boring. But, here, at least, was a history that was not as boring as I thought it would be, and, more importantly, strong evidence that the timeline of Egypt is largely guesswork, due to incomplete evidence and conflicting timelines by ancient historians and modern.