Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization [Paperback]

Barry J. Kemp (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415063469 | ISBN-13: 978-0415063463 | Publication Date: December 21, 1992 | Edition: Reprint

This comprehensive survey of Egyptian society and history transforms our understanding of this remarkable civilisation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Its originality should make it required reading for all students of ancient Egypt.' - Times Literary Supplement

'The most provocative, thoughtful and outstanding synthesis on Ancient Egypt available in the English language.' - Choice

'This study of ancient Egypt is a healthy combination of meticulous scholarly argument and imagination. This is the first Egyptological study to find a satisfactory way of accommodating into the flow of Egyptian art history those works of art and architecture which, although clearly dated to various times throughout the dynastic period, retained the spirit of Predynastic art.' - Apollo

'For an Egyptologist this fine book is consistently informative, provocative and stimulating; its vision of Egypt, even without the Pharaohs in their oriental glamour, will not fail to enthrall a more general reader seeking the best academic introduction.' - Antiquity

About the Author

Barry J. Kemp is Lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Cambridge, and Field Director of the Egypt Exploration Society's excavations at el-Amarna.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; Reprint edition (December 21, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415063469
• ISBN-13: 978-0415063463
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > History > Africa > Egypt

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cultural History of the Highest Order, May 30, 2000

By 

David Ehrenpreis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization (Paperback)

Simply put, this is the best book on Ancient Egypt I have ever read. It's also the kind of volume one can only produce after years of careful study and thought. Over the last two decades, as he conducted extensive excavations at Akhetaten's ancient city of Amarna, Kemp has achieved an extraordinary depth of knowledge about Egyptian culture. Among other issues, his thematic investivation ("anatomy" is exactly the right word), examines the founding of the state, the bureaucratic mind, and the use of propaganda. Throughout, the author employs abundant visual evidence to support and illustrate his ideas. He also carefully connects this "other" world to our own, repeatedly demonstrating that we are far more closely related than we might like to admit. This is an ambitious book. As he notes in the introduction, Kemp's real goal is to reveal "basic aspects of human thought and organization." That he is so successful, is in large part due to the author's extraordinary ability to clarify the most complex ideas in lucid, engaging prose.

9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but what exactly is it?, October 23, 2002

By 

TammyJo Eckhart "TammyJo Eckhart" (Bloomington, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization (Paperback)

The title of this book claims it is an "anatomy of a civilization" and that civilization is Egypt. That isn't what this book is, however, because that title suggests that this is some sort of geneal introduction or study of Egyptian history. It isn't. In fact, even though the first 180 pages look at the formation of the nation, the first two kingdoms, and the twointermediate periods, this is really just a build up to the second half of the book. This second half is focused on the New Kingdom, especially Amarna and Akhenaten. The overall idea of this book is that this odd period in Egyptian history is somehow "better" than the previous and following periods and that it is a foreshadow of later times, maybe even our future. Kemp's ideas are certainly intriguing and indeed may have strength but they should not be promoted this way because it will mislead readers into thinking they are getting a general history when they are not. This is really an academic argument, a worthy one in fact, but it is not appropriate for an introductory audience. If you want to look at Amarna, this is a good resource.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a provocative archaeological book, August 16, 2001

By 

Francesca Jourdan (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization (Paperback)

This provocative book presents a broad examination of Ancient Egyptian society, based on archaeological evidence of available information and material. The author surveys the influence of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Carefully researched, and written in a comprehensible manner, this is a most recommended book for all students and scholars.