The Culture of Ancient Egypt

by John A. Wilson

The story of Egypt is the story of history itself—the endless rise & fall, the life & death & life again of the eternal effort to endure, enjoy & understand the mystery of the universe. Emerging from the mists of time, Egypt met the challenge of the mystery in a glorious evolution of religious, intellectual & political institutions & for two millennia flourished with all the vigor the heart can invest in a social & cultural order. Then Egypt began to crumble into the desert & the waters of the Nile, & her achievements in civilization became her lingering epitaph. John A. Wilson has written a rich interpretive biography of one of the greatest cultural periods. He answers—as best a modern Egyptologist can—the questions asked concerning the dissolution of Egypt's glory. Here is scholarship at its finest, concerned with the humanity that has preceded us, & finding in past grandeur & failure meaning for today.
Introduction
The black land: geographic features of Egypt
Out of the mud: the long prehistoric struggle
The search for security & order: Dynasties 1-3 (about 3100-2700)
The king & God: Dynasties 4-6 (about 2700-2200)
The first illness: Dynasties 7-11 (about 2200-2050)
The king as the good shepherd: Dynasties 11-12 (about 2050-1800)
The great humiliation: Dynasties 13-17 (about 1800-1550)
Far frontiers: earlier Dynasty 18 (about 1550-1375)
Irrepressible conflict: later Dynasty 18 (about 1375-1325)
Where is the glory?: Dynasties 18-20 (about 1325-1100)
The broken reed: Late Empire & Post-Empire (1350 & after)
Chronology
A Note on Translations
Abbreviations
List of Illustrations
Index

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Egypt, Africa, Egyptology, Anthropology

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

John A. Wilson was Andrew MacLeish Distinguished Service Professor at the Oriental Institute and Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, The University of Chicago.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the worst jobs I've ever had was being on the night shift at the Evanston Hospital, basically serving as the institution's administrator while all offices were closed. This was generally admissions work from the front desk of the Emergency Room. Most nights were quiet and when the computer system went down, which was often, the paperwork was minimal. Since the ER medical personnel kept to themselves, it was lonely, but afforded much time to read.

The unpleasantness of the position was manifold. First, it was a second job on top of the work I did in the University College of Loyola University. There were tens of thousands of dollars of student loans to be repaid. I needed the money, but it was exhausting. Second, the hospital adminstrator in charge of me wanted all indigents sent away. A good percentage of our walk-ins were just that, many of them with real medical emergencies. Supposedly, I could judge on the basis of their computer records. Fortunately, the computer was often off-line and my boss was only around very occasionally. Third, most of the doctors called in at night were very, very unfriendly, particularly to me, the only non-medical person about.

Wilson's book was one of many read during the down times at Evanston. Although intended as an introduction, it was relatively dense and dry--the prose of an academic. Still, although dated, it is generally accounted as one of the best introductions to the subject in English and has served as a framework for further study of ancient Egypt.

[Alex Jiménez · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I'm doing my History Day project on Howard Carter and his discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, I've been doing quite a bit of reading up on ancient Egypt in order to gather context about what exactly Carter discovered. I applaud Wilson for his refreshing philosophical perspective of Egyptian history. He does not claim, as Sir Alan Gardiner was wont to do, that he is capturing the voices of the people. Wilson openly admits that our modern values cannot hope to accurately analyze such ancient sources, and the way we see things does not align with the way they saw things. Definitely one of the most captivating history books I've read, and definitely better than Egypt of the Pharaohs by Gardiner. Ugh.

[Lina · Rating 4 out of 5]

History books are often boring but not this one. It's an academic work but very enjoyable nevertheless. It starts from the first people in Nile valley which is good because that part of story was often short or ommitted in other books I read. I'm not a specialist to judge this book in any meaningful way, I can only tell you I like it and I recommend it if you want to spend some time learning ancient history of Egypt.

The book is downloadable from it's official page.

[R. G. Nairam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely the most engaging of my Egypt "textbooks." I'm aware that is old and somewhat inaccurate, so I'm a little worried about where the inaccuracies are! I don't know enough about the period to tell on my own.

It read pretty well and the long chapters went faster than I would've guessed. Loved all the uses of Egyptian literature. Pictures of artifacts are in two chunks and kind of annoying to refer back or forward to.

[Gary Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in just two days, right before the Fall semester of my sophomore year (1974–75). It was one of the used college texts I picked up from the University Book Store after registration—a lucky find.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terribly outdated, and not in a good way.

[Stacey Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally titled "The Burden of Egypt" (1951)