The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt

If you can only have one book on Egyptology then this is the one. Ian Shaw has gathered together experts to present a generally accepted history of this fascinating period of history. As a student of Egyptology I a significant collection of works; but this is the one that I keep returning to. I've been using it for many years and can vouch for its broad coverage of a complex (and evolving) topic; the depth squeezed into a readable book is surprising.

Standard issue for the student of Egypt (9/9 people found this helpful)

This was the second book on Egyptian history I brought as an adult. As an academic resource it is probably the definitive introduction to that subject. It runs chronologically from Predynastic up to the end of the Roman Period, offering a brief but accurate and meaningful glance into the reigns of all the Pharaohs and assorted foreign rulers who shaped Egyptian history.

The academic effort that went into this work must have been immense, and it is rightly one of the most important standard texts for all students, or indeed for those who aspire to become one. Indeed this volume now sits, rather well thumbed as a standard reference on my desk.

At first glance the small typeface and crammed approach makes this a slightly daunting work, but it's division into quite separate works on the major periods of Egyptian history (predynastic,old, FIP, middle, SIP, new, TIP, late, Ptolemaic, roman) means you can easily approach this book "a kingdom at a time", a much better way of tackling it, and also make it an excellent book for soaking up intellectually dead time such as commuting, work etc, which is how I approached it.

Whilst this work lacks some of the readability of Tydesley or Gahlin, it is a veritable gold mine of solidly researched history and for anyone interested in serious/mainstream Egyptian history, there really is no better place to start. It also contains a very useful bibliography for digging further into the nitty gritty of particular areas which fascinate you.

You really do need this book...

Excellent (7/8 people found this helpful)

I have been to Egypt, the first time was in 1993, and I made my mind up that I'd like to study Egyptology.

Although in my second year of studying Egyptology, during my first year this was one of my study books I was required to read.

This provides you with a lot of information on different periods of the Ancient Egyptian History, in all it covers 700,000 years.

I found this book informative, interesting and enjoyable to read. Sometimes I had to read a chapter twice for all the information to sink in.

Whether you are studying Egyptology or just want a little more knowledge this is an excellent book.

It makes an excellent edition to my little Egyptian library, which now stands at nearly 1000 books on this subject. :-)

One of the best "short" histories of Egypt (7/7 people found this helpful)

Well, for one i'd like to stress how well I think the various authors have squeezed an amazing amount of information on all aspects of Egyptian history, culture and religion into comparatively few pages. This book provides an excellent base from which a reader can go about gathering more information. No one book will be sufficient to provide a reader with a thoroughly detailed account of Egyptian history without running into many many volumes. What the authors here do is condense the information into a size that is manageable without being "basic".

As a student of Egyptology under Ian Shaw I have found this book invaluable and have used it as a standard reference work in most essays and also as a background work in revision and its' list of resources at the back is extremely good at pointing me in the direction of other, more thorough works.

All in all I thoroughly recommend it to the student as well as someone with any interest in the ancient Egyptian civilisation.

Readable very detailed history, lacking religious insight (69/74 people found this helpful)

This book gives a detailed look at the history of ancient Egypt, from earliest times to the end of the pharaohs. Well illustrated with drawings & photographs, supporting the text.

Based entirely on the physical evidence from archealogy this history gives the political, but not the religous detail, that aids understanding of the two kingdoms.

The lack of religous reference, vital to a knowledge of the ancient Egyptians and their view of life, is a serious omission. Previous possession of this knowledge, would help the reader to understand the motivation and driving force of the kingdoms.

It is well written, although as different experts cover differing time periods, readability does vary from chapter to chapter. However this is not a major issue.

The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt

Ian Shaw

Reader Reviews:

If you only have one book on Egyptology ... (0/0 people found this helpful)

Standard issue for the student of Egypt (9/9 people found this helpful)

Excellent (7/8 people found this helpful)

One of the best "short" histories of Egypt (7/7 people found this helpful)

Readable very detailed history, lacking religious insight (69/74 people found this helpful)

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