Ancient Egypt: Art and Archaeology of the Land of the Pharaohs

by Giorgio Agnese, Maurizio Re, Neil Frazer Davenport (translator)

One of the most fascinating regions of Africa, the land that saw the rise & fall of the longest & one of the most enigmatic of the Mediterranean civilizations, Egypt is full of landscapes of breathtaking beauty & artistic masterpieces, from the pyramids of Giza to the Valley of the Kings, from the Temple of Philac to Abu Simbel. Thrilling images combined with original text describe the myriad facets of a colorful & surprising land which the Ancients appropriately called "The Red & the Black", evoking the sharp contrast between the red of the scorching desert wastes & the black silt left by the flooding Nile. Within the pages of this book is a journey thru a country with enduring appeal, savoring the complexity, mystery & wealth of the land of the pharaohs.

Genres: History, Egyptology, Art, Archaeology, Egypt, Nonfiction, Architecture

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Expecting an illustrated history for beginners I found this to be an illustrated travel book. After a very brief series of introductory sections, the rest of this volume travels north to south up the Nile, from site to site open to tourists, including museums. The photographs are lovely, some of them new to me, but the text is shallow and the geographical organization of the whole misleads the reader as a chronological arrangement wouldn't have. Overall, a disappointment, but if you like National Geographic articles without self-reference by their authors, and if you plan a first trip to Egypt with lots of time and lots of money, then this might be appropriate.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A colourful treasure trove of everything from the ancient Egyptian world. A comprehensive compendium of the historic and archaeological data from 3,400 BC through to the Ptolemaic and later Roman period.
Covering every significant site in the land of the Pharaohs, from Alexandria in the north all the way down to Abu Simbel in the south, including the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
An indispensable addition from White Star Publications, a five star book.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

For how big this book is it's actually very light on text and gives only basic, shallow explanations of various topics in no particular order. The color photos are nice but I find it really annoying when it inserts a double page of color photos that interrupts the text. At least finish the paragraph first!
It's a great coffee table book but not the best if you want learn more about Ancient Egypt.

[Zach Opsitnick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, a book with little writing but tons of beautiful photographs to make up for the lack of text. Due to the large size of the book, the photos are in incredible detail. A visually beautiful book to behold.

[Yi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Other things set aside, this book is very creative in confusing me by putting photo captions in various places far away from the pictures and mess with the relative position of captions w.r.t. the photos.

[Walt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good images and a good overview of ancient Egypt.

[Niledaughter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction. it is brief but gave a general idea with lots of images , yet no architectural drawing (plans or layouts in particular) .

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this book. Always had a fascination with ancient Egypt.