Ancient Egypt: Its Culture and History

by Jon Manchip White

This fascinating account of ancient Egypt presents predynastic civilization thru the Ptolemies: social & political structure, daily life, international relations, religion & cult of the dead, arts & crafts, science & medicine, sacred writing etc. Includes full reference to recent excavations & features 48 plates.

Genres: History, Egypt, Nonfiction, Historical, Egyptology

217 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1952

About the author

Jon Ewbank Manchip White was a novelist, editor, playwright, poet, and researcher.

Reviews

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it a long time ago and would like to read it again. Egypt is Beautifully depicted and the book made me want to go there.

There are also many pictures that are breathtaking and I remember this book from my past.

There is so much beauty to read about and to see that if you are a History buff or want to know more about Egypt, the way it was, I highly recommend this book.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the whole, this is a wide compilation of history, which is very wordy to read. The 48 illustrations could probably better be seen online. If you can take the subjective statements in stride, this is an interesting read.

[Germanicusii · Rating 3 out of 5]

a 1970 reprint of the 1952 edition. the arrangement is not the best in that the last 3 chapters are a chronological presentation. the first seven are topical e.g. Priest, Pharaoh, Commoner. would make sense if the order were reversed. though there is a very helpful chronology chart pullout in the back. most of the 48 black and white illustration are clear and well captioned. some of the language seems dated. there seems a bit of ethnic, racial bias. the Persians, (black) Nubians and Jews get poked and jabbed in turn. the Bible as historical record appears a bit too often. a reader looking for an introductory text should look elsewhere.

[James Zaworski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ancient Egypt: Its Culture and History by J. Manchip White is a very well written and extremely readable history of one of the world's most important, and ancient, civilizations. White is very succinct and precise in his writing of an extremely long and complex subject, and he examines the major periods of Egyptian history, from the Predynastic Period through the Ptolemiac period with scholarly authority.

It's a great book to introduce anyone interested in ancient Egypt and Egyptology to the subject.

[Elisa Nolf · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit dated and a little too much minute detail to make any real sense of the time period or culture.

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pharaoh is derived from the words "Great House"

Different from western religion, Egyptian gods could do immoral things like killing his own mother (Horus). They can also be bent by humans practicing magic. They tend to form in a triad.

The oldest of the great gods was Ra, Atum or Ra-Atum, god of the university city of Heliopolis, the City of the Sun.

[Kevin Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shotgun blast of 4,000 years of Egyptian history and culture. A great resource for a 1st time history lesson, albeit very detailed with dates, places and events of this ancient culture.