The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Ancient Egypt

by Donald P. Ryan, Steve Vinson (Foreword by)

A comprehensive and entertaining overview of the history, culture, and archaeology of Ancient Egypt, written by an archaeologist and Egyptologist.

-- The Mummy Returns grossed almost 180 million dollars in its first four weeks of general release. A third film in the Mummy series is already in the planning stages.

-- Egypt: Beyond the Pyramids, a four-hour documentary, debuted on the History Channel on Sunday, May 27; the channel's Web site features include show trivia, an Egyptian timeline, a Tomb Game, and an Egypt Shop.

-- Few weeks go by without TV programs about Egypt, pharaohs, pyramids, etc. Recently, there was one about the underwater palace of Cleopatra at Alexandria.

Plays up the most fascinating aspects of Egyptology -- King Tut, mummies, pyramids, the pharaohs (including Cleopatra and Nefertiti), archaeological digs, hieroglyphs, and more; covers daily life of the Ancient Egyptians and their religion, science, and technology; Egypt and the Bible, including the Exodus controversy and the travels of Baby Jesus; the Egyptian battles of Napoleon and Nelson, and King Tut mania and modern Egyptology.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Egyptology, Egypt

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 29, 2001

About the author

Donald P. Ryan is an Egyptologist and archaeologist who has spent more than twenty years excavating in the Valley of the Kings.

―The American University in Cairo Press

Reviews

[Izabela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to ancient Egypt. Much in the way of other Idiot's Guides, this one is presented in a concise and fun manner. It covers a little bit of a lot of information and the author provides a reference section with suggestions for further reading. The author has a light tone that keeps the subject interesting and clearly shows his love for it.

[D. Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to Ancient Egypt. A smart way to get all the basics before moving up to more detailed reading.