Discoveries: Cleopatra

by Edith Flamarion

Featuring nearly one hundred full-color illustrations, a portrait of the immortal--and politically savvy--Queen of the Nile sorts through the history and myth surrounding her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Original.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Egypt, Egyptology

160 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 1997

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite Cleopatra information book! It provided such amazing pictures and interesting facts! Loved it! Recommended for anyone who is doing a project on Cleopatra, or for anyone who simply wants to get acquainted with one of the world's most amazing queen!

[Sincerae Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book about ten years ago. A good history book, but when I look back at it now with my deeper knowledge of Africa and ancient Egypt the paintings are offensive because all represent Cleopatra as a European white woman. I asked an Ethiopian friend once was Cleopatra black or white; her answer was that she was an African. She could have been light or dark skin in Africa, but she was an African and an Eastern woman not a white Western European woman.

J.A. Rogers included her as woman of color in his 1946 book World's Great Men of Color.

Here it is coming from the horse's mouth (real Egyptians) what Egyptians really were and are.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4gVs...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XUPZ...

[Envela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beaucoup d’erreurs, y compris historiques ou archéologiques. Aussi, il manque des fins de phrases par-ci par-là. La plupart des Cleopatre sur les bas reliefs présentés ne sont PAS des représentations de Cleopatre VII.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic pictures. Decent information. Easy to understand & to get through. The big issue with this book is it’s age. Such an old book! (At least where history is concerned.)

[Andres · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting little book, kind of like a miniature coffee table book, so full of pictures that the text must bob, weave, duck, and jump around them. At 160 pages this is a rather slight book: the first 112 pages are slick and glossy (for the pictures), the rest is the “Documents” section printed on regular drab paper (resembling parchment in color, maybe to evoke mood?).

Though there are some minor editing issues, they don’t detract from the straightforward narrative of Cleopatra’s life. In a book this compact there isn’t a lot of room for elaboration so the concise details and zippy momentum keep the story moving at a fair pace. Even with such limitations, though, the book does manage to get across a lot of information, helped along by the more than plentiful pictures and illustrations. The “Documents” section in the back is nifty, but it’s really just a collection of snippets from either primary or literary sources about Cleopatra (or the people in her life), just enough to spice up the reading but nothing you can really sink your teeth into. Most appreciated here, though, was a map of the Battle of Actium which none of the other books I’ve read so far provided. Minor point, but it still bugged me: the lack of passage specific source citation for the text makes me wonder where some of the facts came from.

This is the perfect book to read in order to get the gist of Cleopatra’s life. It can easily be read in an afternoon, with just enough information, depending on your situation, to satisfy your curiosity, whet your appetite, or refresh your memory.

[Bookworm Amir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read, with great photos. This book on Cleopatra had more information that its Wikipedia equivalent. The book was very affordable (I bought it at the Anglo Egyptian Bookstore in downtown Cairo). Defintely worth a read, you see all of Cleopatra from the ancient coins to her modern depictions in Hollywood.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fascinating! I feel like I learn more about history in books then I was ever taught in school. And Cleopatra was a force to be reckoned with. There are so many more details I learned about her life and Antony's that are compellingly human in this book.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a biography, this was an easy read. There were a lot of pictures and other illustrations, which in my opinion, always helps to make a biography or any other non-fiction a lot more interesting.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good basic overview of this interesting historical figure. Recommended

[K.M. Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best cleopatra bios I've read.