Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt – An Illustrated Chronicle of Pharaohs, Dynasties, and Nile Civilization

I love it when historians are so confident of their material that they can write as if they had been there. Barbara Mertz is a consummate storyteller, as her dozens of fiction bestsellers under two pseudonyms attest. Here, she turns her seemingly casual mastery to her original career of Egyptology, and the result is a wonderfully readable book that still manages to teach detailed ancient Egyptian political history across thousands of years in a scholarly fashion. This new edition shows signs of significant updating, as well as her trademark humor from the standpoint of greater experience than in the first writing. As "Red Land, Black Land" is a detailed look -- as much as can be done given current knowledge -- at the lives of ordinary ancient Egyptians, "Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs" provides the history at the better-known levels of Egyptian kings and priests. It reads very quickly -- and how often are you able to break out laughing when reading nonfiction ancient history? If you have any interest in ancient Egypt, read this book.

Initially a little hard to follow but becomes easier as you read on.

I have been interested in Egypt virtually all my life, and have read many books about it over the years. The reason I bought "Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs" is because I knew that Barbara Mertz was the author Elizabeth Peters of Amelia Peabody fame - and Amelia Peters is a favourite of mine. Dr Mertz combines her wealth of knowledge with her personal style of writing, which makes reading this book just sheer pleasure to read. The book is informative, easy to read and, as already stated, pleasurable to the very end. She provides a reading list for those readers who want to pursue the subject further, and I for one, will be ordering some of these very shortly.

Thank you! Such an amazing text. Will be sooooooo helpful on our trip. Egypt is complex and fascinating and you bring it all together. G-

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.

Delivered as promised. Looks nearly new

I loved this book and can't stop talking about it. Finally, after years of study, I understand why Egyptology is so ridiculously complicated. It's because the scholars are totally confused themselves! Not to mention the spelling! Mertz's caustic comments about scholarly "debates" and historical revisionism made me laugh out loud! I wish Mertz were alive so that I could write her a mash letter. I may have to visit her final resting place (a pyramid?) to commune with her so that I can thank her for this marvelous book. Definitely worth a read!

I fondly remember reading this book when I was younger and it was a real page turner. Over the last 40 to 50 years a lot of new evidence has been found and the book needed to be updated and was. The writing style of the original was crisp and clear but now often is not. The author engages in unnecessary and dubious speculation where formerly her speculation was more on point and rational. The book is about a historical period that very long ago and thus poorly documented and calls for the author to speculate. The author gets side tracked with irrelevancies and the writing is now ponderous in places. But this is still a very good book for the non-specialist and most people will enjoy reading it like I once did so many years ago.

Smart, well written.

I ordered this book and I'm super happy with my overall service. It was delivered earlier than expected and is in great condition! :) Would order from this seller again!

Adoro Barbara Mertz e i suoi romanzi. La stessa maestria nella scrittura e la profonda conoscenza delle tematiche egittologiche rendono questo saggio imperdibile.

Having exhausted the Amelia Peabody fiction series (written as Elizabeth Peters), I needed another ancient Egypt "fix" from Barbara Mertz - and this doesn't disappoint. It's written in a similar easy-going style as the fiction, factual and fun.

A good book but for someone who is never likely to go to Egypt the illustrations were a little disappointing.