Customer Reviews

The Egyptians (Ancient Peoples and Places)

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Well illustrated, this classic book, written by a remarkable Egyptologist, is a comprehensible overview of Egyptian civilization. The author discusses the discoveries which led to the beginning of Egyptology; he presents Egypt's geography starting with Sudan and Nubia, ending with the Delta; he describes the history and formation of Egypt from the Predynastic to the Late Periods; he describes Egyptian social groups from the pharaoh to the peasants. Extensively updated by Egyptologist Aidan Dodson, it is an excellent introduction for all students.

I recommend Aldred's "The Egyptians" more than Grimal's book "A History of Ancient Egypt," which is vague and confusing. Aldred's book is definitely a much better and more reliable introduction to all aspects of this civilization, from history to religion, geography to social ranks.

"The Egyptians" is a wonderful piece, spanning the whole of Egyptian history minus Ptolmiac times, which duly belong more to Greek and Roman history than Egyptian. However, unlike Nicolas Grimal's "A History of Ancient Egypt," this history is written much better and Cyril's very formal, yet oddly casuall style makes for quite the enjoyable read. A chapter is spent on Egyptian social classes, ranging from the Pharaoh to the peasantry to slaves, a delightful bite of information concerning Deir el-Medina hidden within. However, I must confess that one of the greatest pleasures came to me when I found among the wonderful plates a long sought after photo of the author, standing in the temple of Seti I at abydos; I like to have faces to go along with my favorite Egyptological authors. I also send my admonitions to Aidon Dodson for a wonderful job of updating; he made the book current without undermining Cyril's style, and nowhere can you for certain know something has been changed.

This is a good bird's eye view of the emergence of Egyptian civilization as it appears almost in parallel to the rise of the Sumerian world. The earliest period of Egyptian civilization after the unification of the upper and lower kingdoms is, as Aldred suggests, the most creative, and the entire cycle of civilization stretches as long as the period in our tradition from the Classical Greeks to modern times, a tremendous range, with an amazing overall continuity. A closer look shows the change in character of the civilization and many interior transformations. This account is a fine beginning to Egyptian history. To the ancient Greeks this world was what they meant by 'ancient'

"The Egyptians" is a wonderful piece, spanning the whole of Egyptian history minus Ptolmiac times, which duly belong more to Greek and Roman history than to Egyptian. However, unlike Nicolas Grimal's "A History of Ancient Egypt," this work is written much better and Cyril's very formal, yet oddly casual style makes for quite the enjoyable read. A chapter is spent on Egyptian social classes, ranging from the Pharaoh to the peasantry to slaves, a delightful bite of information concerning Deir el-Medina hidden within. However, I must confess that one of the greatest pleasures came to me when I found among the wonderful plates a long sought after photo of the author, standing in the temple of Seti I at abydos; I like to have faces to go along with my favorite Egyptological authors. I also send my admonitions to Aidon Dodson for a wonderful job of updating; he made the book current without undermining Cyril's style, and nowhere can you detect his presence save for his well-said preface.

I bought this book with the intention of developing a solid "base" understanding in ancient Egyptian history. In that respect, I was, for the most part, disappointed. If you already have a basic understanding of the topic, this is a good book for a quick "review", but it's a bit stuffy for the lay-person just starting out. It's short on excitement, long on the dry facts. I like to feel like an "armchair Indiana Jones" when I read history books, and this book didn't much convey that feeling to me.

this book has 14 chapters the loss and recovery of pagan egypt, the ancient places, the natural resources, the settlement of egypt, predynastic egypt, the archaic period the pyrimid age of the old kingdom 1 and 2, the first intermediate period, the middle kingdom, the second intermadiate period, the new kingdom, the third intermediate period, and egyptian social groups. when i bought this book i thought it would more about the people but found that it was more about the times, i was alittle upset but i found this book to be one of the best books i have yet to buy. but if you are looking for books more about people joyce tyldesley is another great writer who has books on women in generl, hatchepsut, and nefertiti. but i really do think you should buy this book its great.

The Egyptians (Ancient Peoples and Places) only as a reference on using pictures and drawings. It was almost as if Cyril didn't care to put any effort into the book, just slap down all the history he could find. He skipped over many things and put down basics. Yet it is a good guide for basic knowledge on monuments, kings, and a good place to find ancient cities of Egypt.

I received the book the following day and it was in excellent codition. I could not have asked for anything better, even if I had gone directly to a store and picked the books out myself.