Many modern cats are descendants of the cats of ancient Egypt. These beautiful creatures thus represent a living link between the modern world and the ancient Egyptian civilization. Cats in Egypt were probably domesticated by around 4,000 BC, from wild ancestors. Over the following centuries, they became popular household pets; they are regularly shown in tomb paintings of family life. They were also seen as manifestations of the goddess Bastet, and Dr Malek draws on a vast range of artistic and written sources to show how they became one of the most widely-esteemed and revered animals in Egypt. In the Late Period, enormous numbers of mummified cats were buried with honours, and bronze statuettes of cats were dedicated to temples during religious festivals. Dr Malek ends by describing how cats fared in Egypt in the post-pharaonic period. Cats remain popular in Egypt today; the contract between cats and humans, entered into in Egyptian villages thousands of years ago, is still very much in action.

Ancient Egypt has been a source of fascination for many civilizations. For centuries, grave robbers and archaeologists have attempted to plunder the hidden treasures of the tombs of the Pharaohs; then, on 26 November 1922, Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun. The stories that have since grown up around the discovery of the tomb and of the boy king who lay undisturbed for over 3,000 years have become legendary and continue to fire imaginations around the world. "The Treasures of Tutankhamum" puts Tutankhamun's short life into context by describing and explaining the complexities of life in Ancient Egypt and details the actual discovery and original expedition, drawing on the personal archives of Howard Carter himself.

The discovery of ancient Egypt and the development of Egyptology are momentous events in intellectual and cultural history. The history of Egyptology is the story of the people, famous and obscure, who constructed the picture of ancient Egypt that we have today, recovered the Egyptian past while inventing it anew, and made a lost civilization comprehensible to generations of enchanted readers and viewers thousands of years later. This, the first of a three-volume survey of the history of Egyptology, follows the fascination with ancient Egypt from antiquity until 1881, tracing the recovery of ancient Egypt and its impact on the human imagination in a saga filled with intriguing mysteries, great discoveries, and scholarly creativity. Wonderful Things affirms that the history of ancient Egypt has proved continually fascinating, but it also demonstrates that the history of Egyptology is no less so. Only by understanding how Egyptology has developed can we truly understand the Egyptian past.

During the five centuries of Egyptian history known as Old Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians first realized their aspirations and developed the most advanced civilization of their time. The Old Kingdom was an era of prosperity, stability, and confidence.For many people, the pyramids and tombs, stelae and statues of the Old Kingdom epitomize Egyptian civilization, and most books on Egypt are based on description of these monuments. Jaromir Malek and Werner Forman's approach is fundamentally different, however. In this book they present a complete picture of ancient Egyptian society, placing the Egyptians of the Old Kingdom in the context of climate and geography, art and industry, politics and economy - examining all the factors that shaped daily life. Malek shows, in fascinating detail, that every aspect of Egyptian life was bound up with religion and that the Egyptians lived, both literally and metaphorically, ""in the shadow of the pyramids."" Werner Forman's 120 stunning color photographs of the monuments, works of art, and landscapes of the Old Kingdom bring to life the world of ancient Egypt. Incorporating the latest scholarship, an original approach to the subject, and Forman's exceptional illustrations, In the Shadow of the Pyramids is a major addition to the literature on ancient Egypt.