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J. Fletcher

The Story of Egypt: The Civilization that Shaped the World Hardcover – August 2, 2016

by Joann Fletcher (Author)

4.4 403 ratings

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The story of the world's greatest civilization—spanning 4,000 years of history—full of epic stories, spectacular places, and an evolving society rich in inventors, heroes, villains, and pioneers.

The story of the world's greatest civilization spans 4,000 years of history that has shaped the world. It is full of spectacular cities and epic stories—an evolving society rich in inventors, heroes, heroines, villains, artisans, and pioneers. Professor Joann Fletcher pulls together the complete story of Egypt—charting the rise and fall of the ancient Egyptians while putting their whole world into a context to which we can all relate.

Fletcher uncovers some fascinating revelations: new evidence shows that women became pharaohs on at least ten occasions; that the ancient Egyptians built the first Suez Canal and then circumnavigated Africa. From Ramses II's penchant for dying his grey hair to how we know that Montuhotep's chief wife bit her nails, Dr. Joann Fletcher brings alive the history and people of ancient Egypt as nobody else can.

Print length

496 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Pegasus Books
Publication date

August 2, 2016
Dimensions

6 x 1.6 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1681771349
ISBN-13

978-1681771342
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Toby Wilkinson
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Joann Fletcher
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Ian Shaw
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A comprehensive survey of the history and civilization of ancient Egypt. Similar to Toby Wilkinson’s The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, Fletcher’s account does not end with the fall of the last native Egyptian dynasty but includes a fascinating study of the Ptolemaic period, ending with Cleopatra VII’s defeat by Rome. Recommended as an exciting introduction to ancient Egyptian civilization." ― Library Journal

"The Story of Egypt is written akin to the actual story of Egyptian civilization: mosaic, mighty, flourishing and marked with erudition. What could have been a tedious stroll through an endless museum ends up a convincing ride through millennia with a feeling of persistent movement. The Story of Egypt cannot be outdone." ― Bookreporter

"There’s much fascinating material in The Story of Egypt." -- Michael Dirda ― The Washington Post

"A sweeping look at this epic history emphasizing the role of women rulers. A dense, elucidating narrative, especially as illustrated through spectacular artifacts unearthed from the plethora of burial sites. The authoritative author imparts her vast knowledge in an orderly chronology and lively, intimate history. A perfect choice for budding Egyptologists." ― Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"Fletcher methodically moves through ancient Egyptian history, imparting with succinct but colorful detail each monarch’s impact for the good, for the bad, or for something in between on the evolution (or in some instances, devolution) of the Egyptian state. Phenomenally, Fletcher makes “living” history out of artifacts, and readers with a keen interest in history will follow every step she takes." ― Booklist

"A broad survey targeted to casual readers. Encompasses pharaohs and their royal retinue as well as ‘weavers, artists, butchers and bakers, brewers, florists and perfume-makers.’ Readers already interested in mummies, pyramids, and hieroglyphics will appreciate Fletcher’s depth and breadth of knowledge about the civilization that created them." ― Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Professor Joann Fletcher is based in the Department of Archaeology at the University of York, where she teaches world mummification and funerary archaeology. She is the author of eight books, including The Search for Nefertiti and Cleopatra the Great. Among her many television appearances, the follow-up program to The Search For Nefertiti won a BAFTA, a Royal Television Society Award, and an Association for International Broadcasting Award. Most recently, she wrote and presented Life and Death in the Valley of the Kings for BBC2, and is now working on the four-part series The Story of Egypt for the BBC and PBS.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pegasus Books; 1st edition (August 2, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1681771349
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1681771342
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.47 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.6 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #242,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #57 in Egyptian History (Books)
- #165 in Ancient Egyptians History
- #5,285 in World History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 403 ratings

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4.4 out of 5

403 global ratings

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David Schroepfer

Mom loves it

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2023

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This book for my mom and she tells me she enjoyed it.

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Julio Luz

If you need to read one book about Ancient Egypt, try this one

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2021

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After reading some dozen or more books about Ancient Egypt, I think this book from Dr. Joann Fletcher is one of the most comprehensive and fun to be read (The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Dr. Toby Wilkinson is also very good btw). In less than 500 pages, Dr Fletcher presents an exciting history of a civilization stretching for 3500 years together with the most up to date picture told by Archaeology. It's quite an achievement. Full of citations and complemented by a bibliography for those wanting to learn more.

6 people found this helpful

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Violet Bunny

Like a Soap Opera!

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2018

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Extremely detailed history of Egypt, including its colorful cast of characters. Where the author managed to dig up info on the names & personalities of all the king's courtiers, wives, family members, best friends, etc, is a mystery to me. A very interesting & sometimes humorous account of the lives of these ancient peoples kept me turning the pages. However - I had to deduct 1 star due to the fact that the author continues to insist the Great Pyramid is Khufu's tomb, & that the Sphinx was carved in the image of Khafre. Sheesh!

10 people found this helpful

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cristy mejia

The material of the pages were good

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2020

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I order this book for my Ancient Egypt summer online class, I dont know how but I managed to read almost everything, each page is pack with so much rich and detail information! The book was clean and bendable, material of pages were good, ( I wrote some notes on them) price is worth it. And I learned a lot more from this book than from the lessons. I recommend it for a class or just for leisure reading :)

2 people found this helpful

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Barb M

Egyptian History

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2021

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This is a very nice and well written book on Egyptian history. Love the finds and the details of the finds. Thank you!

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Frank Cannonito

Ancient Egypt for Budding Egyptologists

Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2016

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This is a fascinating read as so much has transpired since my last read of Alan Gardiner's "Egypt of the Pharoahs" more than 40 years ago. I started the book two weeks ago and am now at page 305. The author writes very clearly and is a pleasure to read despite the density of information related. I can't recommend this book more highly than say it is fascinating. But reading it may be tough going for one who has no background in the subject. I can't wait to get back to reading it.

24 people found this helpful

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E. Bjornen

A great read

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2018

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I brought this book on my kindle to read on my two week trip to Egypt. It was fun to see the real live history while reading about Egypt. Every night I would read a bit and the next day I would be seeing some of the history she writes about. It was an informative and well written book.

5 people found this helpful

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handjive

Amazing!

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2019

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Joann, I absolutely loved this book and never wanted it to end. It was even better than Finding Nefertiti which was superb! More, please!

2 people found this helpful

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Paul G

Historia Completa

Reviewed in Mexico on June 7, 2018

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Un libro excelente, Joann Fletcher es una egiptologa renombrada y relata a lo largo del libro la historia COMPLETA de Egipto, sin embargo es un libro ameno a manera de narrativa. No costará trabajo a principiantes que gusten adentrarse de la historia de Egipto por primera vez y los más estudiosos de la historia pienso que también lo apreciaran. Un libro muy completo lleno de una historia épica.

One person found this helpful

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Lloyd Walmsley

Learn about Egypt, read this book.

Reviewed in Canada on May 6, 2018

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This book is one of the best I've read on this subject. Joann Fletcher has kept it intelligent and easy to read. Joann doesn't ever talk down to her readers. If you want to learn about Egypt, read this book. You won't regret it.

2 people found this helpful

Christiane

Very detailed

Reviewed in Germany on March 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

I am interested in ancient Egyptian history but - as I found out at about 30% on my Kindle - not quite to the extent provided by this book which concentrates mainly on the long, long list of rulers, tombs and temples.

I already know that I won't be able to remember even a fraction of what I have been reading.

One person found this helpful

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suzanne

Very low quality printing

Reviewed in Canada on September 18, 2022

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This book is basically unreadable.

The printing is so faint and it's printed on very low quality paper.

I'd return it if I could.

Donato

Uhm, not entirely satisfied

Reviewed in Italy on August 19, 2017

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My personal expectations were perhaps too high. I rated this book three stars because there is a lot of good writing and compelling information, but it lacks some important - fundamental I daresay - aspects of ancient Egypt culture.
The positive points include a rich description of the lives of almost all the kings and pharaoh of Egypt, with a final list of names at the end of the books that help to locate historically each monarch and each dynasty. Fletcher highlights the importance of women and of religious aspects in the lives of Egyptians. Detailed information about tombs, locations, arrangements, are also reported. Overall, the story follows the line of the kings and queens, with the addition of the most important military personnel and courtiers. The pictures, divided in two sets amidst the book, help to enrich the tale.
The negatives: too detailed information about tombs and funerary arrangements of each king, especially in the first part of the book, are interesting at the beginning, but in the long run they become boring. The scheme followed seems to be "new king > name, wives, sons & daughter > building of his tomb > full description of his tomb (where, when, why, who build it, etc.> new king", with very little additional information about the country. This is, in my humble opinion as reader, the weakest part of the opera. Egypt's hundreds of pharaohs list started to seem a boring sequence of names with nothing worth besides. In addition, mummification and hieroglyphs are two characteristic aspects of Egypt, but no serious attempt at describing them has been made. I did not want to read a manual of mummification, but I found only sparse information about the practice have been reported and I expected more. Mummification rises suddenly in the tale without the right in-depth required. The same is true for the writing: no one wants a dictionary or a sequence of symbols with the related meaning, but in a book such as this, one must supply more about the subject.
In conclusion, I liked it, because is an attempt to report more than 3 thousand years of glorious history. The book is updated, and generally well written and interesting. It lacks a conclusion to say the truth: the tale stops suddenly with the death of Kleopatra. Given the long travel (again, 3 thousand years) and the personal link of the author with Egypt, I expected final considerations of a certain importance. The most interesting parts are those in which Fletcher leaves the deeds of everyday kings and queens to look at the grander picture, that of the Ancient World of which Egypt was part. So, the diplomatic relationships with Hittites, Greece, Babylonia, Persia, Rome, Nubia, Lybia etc., the economic and financial aspect of the reign, the wars of conquest, the guiding figure of the some of the greatest Pharaohs, the contrasts with the Amen clergy. When the look is widened, the book breaths real life, become dynamic, gives the sense of real history and is really interesting. To help the reader two detailed maps at the beginning of the book and a satisfying Index at the end of it.

One person found this helpful

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The Story of Egypt: The Civilization that Shaped the World Hardcover – August 2, 2016

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