Ancient Egypt: A Guide to the Gods, Pharaohs, Dynasties, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt

by Patrick Auerbach

Ancient Egypt's impact on later cultures was immense. You could say that Egypt provided the building blocks for Greek and Roman culture, and, through them, influenced all of the Western tradition. Today, Egyptian imagery, concepts, and perspectives are found everywhere; you will find them in architectural forms, on money, and in our day to day lives. Many cosmetic surgeons, for example, use the silhouette of Queen Nefertiti (whose name means “the beautiful one has come”) in their advertisements. Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for more than 3000 years and showed an incredible amount of continuity. That is more than 15 times the age of the United States, and consider how often our culture shifts; less than 10 years ago, there was no Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube. While today we consider the Greco-Roman period to be in the distant past, it should be noted that Cleopatra VII's reign (which ended in 30 BCE) is closer to our own time than it was to that of the construction of the pyramids of Giza. It took humans nearly 4000 years to build something--anything--taller than the Great Pyramids. Contrast that span to the modern era; we get excited when a record lasts longer than a decade. Scroll to the top of the page and click Add To Cart to read more about this extraordinary largely forgotten chapter of history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

72 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 15, 2016

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book gives a very general overview of some aspects of ancient Egyptian life, it is written in a very juvenile style with very little explanation behind much of the information. There are numerous typos and grammatical errors, and names and places are often thrown out without any explanation as to who or where they were. I wanted to enjoy the information presented, but I often found I had to re-read since my mind continually wandered.

[Rob Roy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do not waste your money purchasing this book. It is a survey of Ancient Egypt, notable for its disjointedness, its mistakes, and chronological jumble. Maybe the author wrote a better book, and it was hacked to death by editors, but regardless, don't bother.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very perfunctory. Basically written for children with a few adult words thrown in. Disappointing.