A Brief History of Egypt

by Arthur Goldschmidt Jr.

Egypt ranks high among the countries of the world in its longevity as a civilization, the role it has played in history, and its strategic location. It is known, in part, for its historic influence over other civilizations and countries. This includes that of pharaonic Egypt on the ancient Hebrews, Mesopotamians, and Syrians and on classical Greece and Rome. Egypt has also figured prominently in the history of Islam. Modern Egypt is the most populous Arab state, and it has led the Arabs in education, literature, music, architecture, cinema, radio, and television. Its capital, Cairo, is the largest city in Africa and in the Arab world, and it hosts the headquarters of the Arab League. There are few, if any, Middle Eastern political issues - from the War on Terrorism to the Arab-Israeli conflict - that can be addressed without considering Egypt.

While most readers are familiar with at least some aspects of ancient Egyptian history, contemporary Egypt and its connections to its ancient roots are not always well understood. A Brief History of Egypt explores Egypt's broad political, economic, social, and cultural developments, from the mighty civilization of the past to the diverse cultural and political landscape of today, covering almost 6,000 years of history in a clear and concise manner.

About the Author:
Arthur Goldschmidt Jr. is professor emeritus of Middle East history at Penn State University

Genres: Egypt, History, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2007

About the author

Arthur Goldschmidt is Professor Emeritus of Middle East History at Penn State University, where he taught from 1965 to 2000. He is best known for writing an introductory textbook, A Concise History of the Middle East, first published by Westview Press in 1979 and now being revised for its ninth edition. Other books he has written include Modern Egypt: the Formation of a Nation State (second edition published by Westview in 2004), the second and third editions of the Historical Dictionary of Egypt, and A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Egypt. His latest book is A Brief History of Egypt, published by Facts on File in 2008 and he is editing for that publisher the Creation of the Modern Middle East Series. He has also edited a book of specialized articles about aspects of Egypt’s history from 1919 to 1952 and written the introduction to a collection of book chapters published by Westview Press. He chairs a committee to write the history of the International Association of Torch Clubs. In addition, he has written many articles, chapters in edited volumes, and book reviews. For his intensive work with both graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants at Penn State, as well as his textbook, Dr. Goldschmidt received the Middle East Studies Association’s Mentoring Award in 2000. He has lived and conducted research in Egypt and several other Middle Eastern countries, with grants from the American Research Center in Egypt, the Social Science Research Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Fulbright Commission. He was a visiting fellow at Durham University in 1989 and 1990. He earned his B.A. from Colby College and his advanced degrees from Harvard University. In retirement he teaches courses for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Penn State’s Elderhostel, and the Chautauqua Institution’s Special Studies Program.

Reviews

[Richard Seltzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in preparation for trip to Egypt.

[Artie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to give this book 4 stars because it was a simple enough read to start to get a grasp on *modern* Egyptian and Middle Eastern history. The history, as the title denotes, is brief. It is a bit too brief, in my view, though. If this book were titled "A Brief History of Modern Egypt," I would give it 4 stars for a more accurate description. Unfortunately, the author covers about 4000 years of Egypt's history in about 50 pages and then covers the next 700 years or so for 200 pages.

That being said, I really like the way this book was written. It was informative and engaging, while being seemingly (I'm no historian) thorough, accurate, and balanced. As a modern Egyptian history starter book, I would recommend it. If you don't any kind of serious depth into Egyptian or Middle Eastern modern history you would absolutely need to find more resources.

Do not read this book if you want to learn about ancient Egypt.

Note: I use "modern" here to denote from about 1200AD-Present.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scintillating prose? No. But this book provides a recent history-heavy account of the history of Egypt. Ancient Egypt is given oddly short shrift, given how popular the topic is (outside Egypt, of course). The trade-off is for detailed descriptions from the Ottomans on, especially with regards to the years of Nasser and Sadat. The final chapters are especially interesting in light of Mubarak's health issues and the crescendo of curiosity about the succession.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great summary of Egyptian history - not so much for ancient history, but very good for colonial/recent events.

[Bethanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

He has managed to take thousands of year's worth of culture and history and note the most important parts without making the chapters feel rushed. Excellent introduction.