Customer Reviews

Ancient Lives: Daily Life in Egypt of the Pharaohs

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This book stands on its own merits as an engaging, easy-to-read yet informative work of history, the proof of which is that it sold out its first printing. Althoug it doesn't need the likes of me to praise it, I can say that I have read and re-read this book and still draw great enjoyment from it. Actually, I only discovered that this excellent book has been languishing without a review because I was trying to track down its video companion, which aired on PBS during the 1980s and which was my original introduction to John Romer. I am captivated Romer's ability to weave together the bits and pieces (often, quite literally, "bits and pieces") of the everyday lives of a special group of ancient Egyptians, the excavators and artists of the Great Place, the famous Valley of the Kings. Ancient Lives is the story of the villagers who lived in semi-isolation on the west bank of the Nile, whose profession it was to build and decorate the Royal tombs of the Pharaohs. Romer is an everyman's Egyptologist, full of wonder, energy, solid knowledge of his subject, and an I-wonder-what's-over-that-next-ridge kind of infectious curiosity, combined with a natural story teller's sense of drama and language. The villagers' story, as it turns out, has survived them due to the dilligence of the Royal Scribes assigned to the village. Romer knits together the information left by them on papyrus, limestone ostracons, and the occaisional carved graffiti, into a kind of family history, where individuals' personalities and passions, even their peccadillos, bring them and their village vividly back to life. It's a book worth looking for.

Hi Keith,

If your still reading Romer's books and STILL would like to get a copy of "Ancient Lives" on VHS, try your local library. That's how I got mine.

The book is fantastic! No one can weave Egyptian antiquity the way Romer does. I am sorry that so few of his documentaries are seen here in the States.

As a John Romer fan, it is getting harder and harder to get his material. I have DVD's and videos of his work, but this is the first book. Interesting and well written. I find Romer is so euthusiastic and loves archeology so much that it rubs off. I wish he wasn't retired!!! He is and always will be a master of fun and knowledgable archeology. A must for Ancient Egypt fans!

Although I do not know much about archaeology, John Romer is top of the line. Not just because he seems to be very knowledgeable on the subject, but his programs encompass so much more than just archaeology. Together with great photography he is able to make you part of what he covers and makes you want to have been there when the sites were alive and bustling! This is not a "dry" lecture on what the ruins once were, but you are transplanted in the life of the people that once were there. Like his other DVDs: very highly recommended!