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Title: Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt
ISBN: 006125276X
Author:
Barbara Mertz
Publicate Date: 2007-12-01
Publish: 2007-12-01
List Price: $26.95
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $5.75
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $5.51
Amazon Merchant Price: $17.79
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| Customer Review: |
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1: The more you know, the less you know you know
A few years ago I visited these areas and the tour guide spoke with great certainty about everything. Come to find out almost everything is subject to question. Mertz is clear on what has been established, and what is theory. The time, energy and research put into Egyptian archeaology opens new avenues of doubt and make facts more and more elusive.
Mertz warns at the beginning that this is not a text nor a complete history. She says it is an collection material that she finds interesting. The first part was a little TOO informal for me. Mertz hits her stride with Hatshepsut and keeps the narrative strong through the end.
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2: Newly Updated Book Perfect for Anyone Interested in Egypt
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
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3: Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt
I loved this book. It's very well written and very informative - definitely not "dry" and "stuffy".
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4: A Wonderful Introduction to Egyptology
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.
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5: Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs by Barbara Meertz
The book is interesting as well as fascinating with much information. Just what was needed to add to her Elizabeth Peters novels about Egypt.
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