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The final chapter in the definitive, three-volume history of the
world's first known state Archaeologist John Romer has spent a
lifetime chronicling the history of Ancient Egypt, and here he
tells the epic story of an era dominated by titans of the popular
imagination: the radical iconoclast Akhenaten, the boy-king
Tutankhamun and the all-conquering Ramesses II. But 'heroes' do not
forge history by themselves. This was also a time of international
trade, cultural exchange and sophisticated art, even in the face of
violent change. Alongside his visionary new history of this, the
most famous period in the long history of Ancient Egypt, Romer
turns a critical eye on Egyptology itself. Paying close attention
to the evidence, he corrects prevailing narratives which cast the
New Kingdom as an imperial state power in the European mould.
Instead, he reveals - through broken artefacts in ruined workshops,
or preserved letters between a tomb-builder and his son - a culture
more beautiful and beguiling than we could have imagined. Romer
carefully reconstructs the real story of the New Kingdom as
evidenced in the archaeological record, and the result - the final
volume of a lifelong project - secures his status as Ancient
Egypt's finest chronicler.
The ancient world comes to life in the first volume in a two
book series on the history of Egypt, spanning the first farmers to
the construction of the pyramids. Famed archaeologist John Romer
draws on a lifetime of research to tell one history's greatest
stories; how, over more than a thousand years, a society of farmers
created a rich, vivid world where one of the most astounding of all
human-made landmarks, the Great Pyramid, was built. Immersing the
reader in the Egypt of the past, Romer examines and challenges the
long-held theories about what archaeological finds mean and what
stories they tell about how the Egyptians lived. More than just an
account of one of the most fascinating periods of history, this
engrossing book asks readers to take a step back and question what
they've learned about Egypt in the past. Fans of Stacy Schiff's
"Cleopatra" and history buffs will be captivated by this re-telling
of Egyptian history, written by one of the top Egyptologists in the
world.
The extraordinary history of Ancient Egyptian civilization - from
its earliest origins to the creation of its greatest monument -
from specialist John Romer This exceptional book draws on a
lifetime of research and thought to recreate the previously untold
story of how a civilization which began with handfuls of
semi-itinerant fishermen settled, spread and created a rich, vivid,
strange civilization that had its first culmination in the pharaoh
Khufu building the Great Pyramid. The book immerses the reader in
the fascinating world of archaeological evidence, the process by
which this long vanished world has gradually re-emerged and the
rapidly changing interpretations which these breathtaking but
entirely enigmatic remains have been subjected to. Whether he is
writing about the smallest necklace bead or the most elaborate
royal tomb, John Romer conveys to the reader a remarkable sense of
how to understand a people so like ourselves and yet in so many
ways eerily different. Reviews: 'Scholarly, passionate and
exquisitely written ... a stunning, clear-sighted history of
Ancient Egypt' James McConnachie, Sunday Times 'It is not easy to
enliven prehistory while simultaneously respecting limited
archaeological evidence and avoiding novelistic pitfalls. But Romer
manages it ... After a long wait, we have an up-to-date,
stimulating account of the birth of what may turn out to be the
world's oldest civilization' Andrew Robinson, Nature 'His physical
descriptions are superb ... a book to be read and thought about'
John Ray, Financial Times 'Romer carries the reader along
effortlessly on a lengthy, complex yet immensely satisfying
journey' Joyce Tyldesley, BBC History About the author: John Romer
has been working in Egypt since 1966 on archaeological digs in many
key sites, including the Valley of the Kings and Karnak. He led the
Brooklyn Museum expedition to excavate the tomb of Ramesses XI. He
wrote and presented a number of television series, including The
Seven Wonders of the World, Romer's Egypt, Ancient Lives and
Testament. His major books include The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt
Revisited and Valley of the Kings. He lives in Italy.
The Book of the Dead is a unique collection of funerary texts from
a wide variety of sources, dating from the fifteenth to the fourth
century BC. Consisting of spells, prayers and incantations, each
section contains the words of power to overcome obstacles in the
afterlife. The papyruses were often left in sarcophagi for the dead
to use as passports on their journey from burial, and were full of
advice about the ferrymen, gods and kings they would meet on the
way. Offering valuable insights into ancient Egypt, The Book of the
Dead has also inspired fascination with the occult and the
afterlife in recent years.
This definitive, multi-volume history of the world's first known
state reveals that much of what we have been taught about Ancient
Egypt is the product of narrow-minded visions of the past Drawing
on a lifetime of research, John Romer chronicles the history of
Ancient Egypt from the building of the Great Pyramid through the
rise and fall of the Middle Kingdom: a peak of Pharaonic culture
and the period when writing first flourished. He reveals how the
grand narratives of nineteenth and twentieth-century Egyptologists
have misled us by portraying a culture of cruel monarchs and
chronic war. Instead, based in part on discoveries of the past two
decades, this extraordinary account shows what we can really learn
from the remaining architecture, objects and writing: a history
based on physical reality.
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