Customer Reviews

Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt

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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.

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.

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.

If you're new to egyptology and are looking for a good book on the History of Egypt then you can't pick a better place to start than by reading this. Barbara Mertz writes in a conversational style and her wit and personality shine out from the page. Despite the `light' feel of the text the author is obviously very knowledgeable on the subject and is not afraid of letting the reader know of her own, sometimes controversial, opinions. For example, she is particularly scathing of the New Kingdom Pharaohs that followed Thutmose III (including Ramses II) which might surprise some people but she backs this up with reasoned argument leaving the reader to decide for themselves. This book also contains what I feel to be the classic put-down for `Pyramidiots' and I quote: "He [the pyramidiot] is not using facts to construct a theory, but is selecting facts to support a preconceived and unshakable belief. Whatever the techniques a historian chooses to work with, he must use them without prejudice and be prepared to revise, or dismiss, his theory when he runs up against a fact his tools cannot handle." Graham Hancock please note! Despite being written some time ago I found this classic work a refreshing and informative read. Well recommended.

Writing under the pen name Elizabeth Peters, Barbara Mertz started the Amelia Peabody series of tongue-in-cheek Victorian archaeological thrillers in 1975. But 11 years before then this trained Egyptologist published the first edition of "Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs".

Like many other books this traces of the history of ancient Egypt from the pre-dynastic to the Ptolemies. But Mertz brings her sense of humor to lighten what can be a dry series of lists of kings. She brings to life highpoints in the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms, as well as the chaotic periods in between. Moreover, she lifts the veil and lets the reader in on many of the scholarly disputes, like those over the woman pharaoh Hatshepsut and the role of Nefertiti in the succession to her heretical husband Akhenaton.

It's also nice to see someone reveal the egomaniac Ramses II for what he was, a poor leader who lost the second Battle of Kadesh, and who covered his weaknesses by pasting his image everywhere.

For anyone who has read the Peabody books, including the depiction there of Sir William Flinders Petrie (and his approach to feeding his staff), Mertz' homage here to the founder of modern Egyptology is interesting.

In her forward to this Second Edition, Mertz says she thought she wouldn't have to do much to revise the earlier work. But then, she adds, taking into account four decades of new discoveries proved to be a challenge. There are places in this book where she discusses post-1964 work, but the addition of the new material is seamless, with no sense of things just stuck in.

This is a delightful introduction to the fascinating history of ancient Egypt.

Barbara Mertz is not only an egyptologist, but a talented writer. She produces the most interesting and complete history of Egypt that I've ever read. It is informative, revealing, and presented in a way that keeps the reader interested in what's going to happen next. I actually forgot that I was reading historical facts. This book is a must read for Amateur Egpytologists everywhere!

Also check out 'Red Land, Black Land : Daily Life in Ancient Egypt" by Barbara Mertz

If you have ever read Barbara Mertz and Barbara Michaels or Elizabeth Peters, you already know how colorful her writing is. If she can bring fiction to life the way she does, you can only imagine what she does to non-fiction. Temples, Tombs, and hieroglyphs bring history to Egypt in the way only Ms. Mertz can!

For anyone who has an interest in Egypt or ever wondered exactly who the ancient Egyptians were and why their dynasties lasted for thousands of years, Barbara Mertz's "Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs" is the perfect introduction. More commonly known to readers as Elizabeth Peters, Mertz is the author of the popular Amelia Peabody mystery series.

Long before she started her career as a best-selling writer, however, Barbara Mertz began as a trained Egyptologist, with a PhD from the famed Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, the launching pad for many successful Egyptologists. These credentials make her the perfect person to write this history, as she is able to translate the rich Egyptian history of the pharaohs into something more easily understood by readers with no archaeological background, except an interest in Egypt.

This is not to say that the book is always easy reading, although Mertz tackles her subject with a passion and humor readers are unlikely to find in any other, more typical history tome. She manages to bring the Egyptians of old to life, translating ancient hieroglyphs into fascinating stories of individuals, each with their own purpose, strengths and weaknesses exposed.

She opens up the fascinating world of tomb robbers and archaeologists (which some claim are not so far apart in purpose or behavior at times). She demonstrates how information is extrapolated from archaeological findings and illustrates how history is revised over time as new facts and theories come to light.

Despite the injection of personality Mertz brings, this can be dense material at times. For anyone uninitiated in the world of the Egyptians, there are more than 30 dynasties, each with several rulers, falling into 10 eras, dating from the Stone Age Archaic Period to the time of Cleopatra and the Roman invasion. The sheer length of time and individuals and events covered is staggering.

With repeating pharaohnic names, unfamiliar landscapes and place names, conflicting historical research and theories, the book can be overwhelming at times. Yet the reward for sticking it out (dare I even say, re-reading parts) is worth the time and effort expended. Frankly, I read this book twice, cover to cover, and the second time around, I finally began to get a real sense for the overall arc of historical time period covered. And I would hazard to say that it seems even more likely that dipping in again would yield even more historical treasure and understanding.

The richest gift that Mertz offers in her overview of Egypt can be found in the simple stories of the rulers described here, in illuminating for the novice the archaeological tricks of the trade (and weaknesses of such methods) used to determine exactly (or to the best of anyone's knowledge) what happened so many years ago. Mertz's infectious passion for all things Egyptian (well, except possibly pottery shards) can't help but influence her readers to want to learn more. Through her book, she has opened the door to her own exciting world, and readers can't help but want to share in that magic.

Christine Zibas, Book Pleasures

As an archaeologist who teaches adults and younger students, this is my favorite overview of Egyptian history. Barbara Mertz make the kings and queens come alive! Nancy Bernard

Its list price is $16.95, it has 335 pages, but I don't know where Amazon.com gets "April, 1990" as the book's date. The book is the 1978 revised edition of a 1964 book and therefore misses some modern theories and has a 1960's slant (for example, the author apologizes every time she describes people with the word "race").

This was the first of a large number of books and documentaries I've read/watched in preparation for a visit to Egypt this coming summer.

Before I grind my axe at some of the problems with this book, let me say that I learned a lot from it and enjoyed reading it. If this is your sole book it will enable you to identify many places, temples and tombs with the appropriate point in Egyptian history with only a few built-in mistakes! If someone asked me to recommend an informative, relatively inexpensive, but not too dry study of ancient Egypt I would recommend this one without hesitation.

But some theories which are currently in vogue she misses or gives just a one sentence discussion: like the current idea that the pharaoh Smenhkkare was really the queen Nefertiti.

She flatly states that the mummy found in Tomb 55 in the Valley of the Kings "can't be Akhenaton." However, modern consensus agrees with turn of the century Egyptian Director of Antiquities (whose argument the author fails to mention) Authur Weigall: "The body was lying in a coffin inscribed with Akhenaton's name; it was bound with ribbons inscribed with his name; it had the physical characteristics of [his] portraits...Those who erased the names (of Akhenaton in the tomb because he had been a "heretic") must have thought it to be Akhenaton's body...finally, there is nobody else who..it could be."

The author presents other opinions which, even given the information available 20 years ago, are highly debatable, but it seems to make the book more readable: it's purpose is not to exhausively evaluate every theory.

Occasionally, she seems inconsistent. For example on p.148 "Hatshetsut and Cleopatra...Elizabeth the Great.. She [Hatshepsut] was beautiful, of course; all great queens are beautiful." Then on p.216 "...not all the great charmers of history have been beauties, and Ti certainly rates a place among them, with Cleopatra..."

There are a few places where the discussion becomes cloudy because the author appears to assume the reader has prior knowledge. For example, she mentions the beauty of Nefertiti without describing who she was. Then, after discussing "truth in artistic technique," she mentions the "king's devotion to his beautiful wife." Was she Nefertiti? I had to skim through to the end of the chapter to be sure she was.

Despite the problems, they are few compared to the wealth of information, stories, and theories that are presented. This is NOT a book that will put you to sleep. I went through it in two days and I don't speed-read!