Egyptian history

[piperclassique]

Anyone got a recommendation for a simple history, correct but not too dry?
Free is always good, but as long as the price is not too high, I think the budget can stand a book or two. Ebooks only please. Any format, available in U.K. or anywhere that doesn't check.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by piperclassique

Anyone got a recommendation for a simple history, correct but not too dry?
Free is always good, but as long as the price is not too high, I think the budget can stand a book or two. Ebooks only please. Any format, available in U.K. or anywhere that doesn't check.

As someone who's doing a degree in Egyptology, I can answer this one .

The best single-volume history of Egypt by a long way is "The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt", edited by Ian Shaw. It is available as an ebook. It's a scholarly book, but very readable. It's my standard "go-to" book on my Egyptology course. It covers the history of Egypt from pre-historic times through to the Roman occupation.

Amazon UK Link

[crich70]

Interesting. It's also available from Kobo. Kobo

[piperclassique]

Thanks Harry and crich70. Got that!

[SteveK]

Also available at Amazon for a few dollars less. Looks interesting.

Thanks!
SteveK

[HarryT]

It is an excellent book. It's arranged the way the many of these "Oxford History of <whatever>" books are, with separate chapters covering a particular period in history, each written by an expert in that particular field, so writing styles do vary, and some are more readable that others. I'd suggest skipping the "prehistoric" stuff at the start of the book, unless that particularly interests you, and go straight to the "Old Kingdom" part of the book, which is when the "interesting" stuff started to happen.

[LovesMacs]

What does anyone think of the Barbara Mertz books? I haven't yet read them.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by LovesMacs

What does anyone think of the Barbara Mertz books? I haven't yet read them.

Do you mean her non-fiction books, or her fiction, written as "Elizabeth Peters"? Her fiction, in particular the "Amelia Peabody" series, is very good.

[LovesMacs]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Do you mean her non-fiction books, or her fiction, written as "Elizabeth Peters"? Her fiction, in particular the "Amelia Peabody" series, is very good.

I've seen two non-fiction books by her, one on Egyptian history proper and one on daily life in ancient Egypt.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by LovesMacs

I've seen two non-fiction books by her, one on Egyptian history proper and one on daily life in ancient Egypt.

Yes, I've read them. Written very much for the popular market, but well written.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Yes, I've read them. Written very much for the popular market, but well written.

I'm listening to "Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs" by Barbara Mertz in my spare time. It's a good book that's very readable. It's written in the style of the author chatting with the reader, rather than a scholarly work. It's not so much a history of Egypt per se, but rather a series of things that archeologists find interesting with enough context provided to keep the reader from getting lost. Just finished the section on "King Tut".

[BenG]

Penguin is publishing Writings from Ancient Egypt newly translated and never before published texts from Ancient Egypt.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/...ish-first-time

[crich70]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It is an excellent book. It's arranged the way the many of these "Oxford History of <whatever>" books are, with separate chapters covering a particular period in history, each written by an expert in that particular field, so writing styles do vary, and some are more readable that others. I'd suggest skipping the "prehistoric" stuff at the start of the book, unless that particularly interests you, and go straight to the "Old Kingdom" part of the book, which is when the "interesting" stuff started to happen.

There is also an Oxford Shakespeare. A heavy book but interesting. I bought a copy of that when I was around 18. Nothing quite like having your own paper copy of the Bard's works. I'm assuming that both books are from different depts. in the same Oxford college.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by crich70

There is also an Oxford Shakespeare. A heavy book but interesting. I bought a copy of that when I was around 18. Nothing quite like having your own paper copy of the Bard's works. I'm assuming that both books are from different depts. in the same Oxford college.

Books prefaced by "Oxford" are published by Oxford University Press and aren't linked to a specific Oxford college or department. It's merely an academic publishing house as university presses here are also.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by issybird

Books prefaced by "Oxford" are published by Oxford University Press and aren't linked to a specific Oxford college or department. It's merely an academic publishing house as university presses here are also.

And of course most of the books the OUP publish don't have the word "Oxford" in their title. OUP and their counterpart, Cambridge University Press (CUP) are two of the most prominent British academic publishing houses.