Temples, Tombs, & Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt [Paperback]

Barbara Mertz (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Morrow; Book Club edition (2007)
• ISBN-10: 0739496964
• ISBN-13: 978-0739496961
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,301,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dated, but still a classic, September 2, 2007

By 

Shoveling Ferret (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)

As a graduate student in Egyptology/Egyptian archaeology, I have a slightly different perspective on this book than some people. As other reviewers have noted, the text is a bit dated, having been written a few decades ago. However, the basic facts are still solid and Mertz writes so well and brings so much of ancient Egyptian history to life that a few inaccuracies can be excused, especially as one hopes that so well-written a text will encourage people to go on to do more research.
Mertz also manages to capture and discuss, though not in detail, a bit of what it is like to study Egyptology professionally in a few humorous off-the-cuff remarks in the texts. If memory serves, she compares demotic to a series of frenetic commas. :)
In short, this is a book I re-read on occasion, even as a professional, not for any particular research needs, but more to remind myself what my own writing *could* be and, sometimes, to remind myself why I decided to do this for a living.

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent account of Ancient Egypt, July 18, 1999

By 

Aussie Reader ""Rick"" (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt (Paperback)

Firstly I must admit that I am not an expert on this subject. I learnt the basic stuff at High School and that's about it. My interest was sparked in Ancient Egypt after taking my daughter to watch 'The Mummy' and subsequently reading Bob Brier's book 'The Murder of Tutankhamen'.

As it has been previously noted by other reviewer's this book is somewhat dated (orginally published in 1964) but that does not detract from the wonderful narrative that the author weaves around the Pharaohs and their place in history.

The author does not get bogged down in technical details and you never lose interest in the story. She has a knack of writing about these far away times and people as if it was yesterday and draws you into her story. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to obtain a decent overview of Ancient Egypt.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the latest, but maybe the greatest., January 28, 2000

By 

Sarah Asher - See all my reviews

This review is from: Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt (Paperback)

I picked this book up in an airport when I was a teenager, and it sparked an interest in Egyptology which has lasted 30 years. Mertz is a graceful writer, deftly mixing scholarship with humor and 'human interest'. The book is not intended for Egyptologists, (Hence 'A Popular History') and bypasses, wisely in my opinion, the wrangling between experts which makes the field so frustrating to the lay reader. Honesty prevails, however; when she is stating a personal opinion, she says so. The result is a fascinating, funny and intelligent look at the ancient culture of which we know so much and understand so little.