Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs

If you have ever read Barbara Mertz and Barbara Michaels or Elizabeth Peters, you already know how colorful her writing is. If she can bring fiction to life the way she does, you can only imagine what she does to non-fiction. Temples, Tombs, and hieroglyphs bring history to Egypt in the way only Ms. Mertz can!

I picked this book up in an airport when I was a teenager, and it sparked an interest in Egyptology which has lasted 30 years. Mertz is a graceful writer, deftly mixing scholarship with humor and 'human interest'. The book is not intended for Egyptologists, (Hence 'A Popular History') and bypasses, wisely in my opinion, the wrangling between experts which makes the field so frustrating to the lay reader. Honesty prevails, however; when she is stating a personal opinion, she says so. The result is a fascinating, funny and intelligent look at the ancient culture of which we know so much and understand so little.

Barbara Mertz is not only an egyptologist, but a talented writer. She produces the most interesting and complete history of Egypt that I've ever read. It is informative, revealing, and presented in a way that keeps the reader interested in what's going to happen next. I actually forgot that I was reading historical facts. This book is a must read for Amateur Egpytologists everywhere!Also check out 'Red Land, Black Land : Daily Life in Ancient Egypt" by Barbara Mertz

If you're new to egyptology and are looking for a good book on the History of Egypt then you can't pick a better place to start than by reading this. Barbara Mertz writes in a conversational style and her wit and personality shine out from the page. Despite the `light' feel of the text the author is obviously very knowledgeable on the subject and is not afraid of letting the reader know of her own, sometimes controversial, opinions. For example, she is particularly scathing of the New Kingdom Pharaohs that followed Thutmose III (including Ramses II) which might surprise some people but she backs this up with reasoned argument leaving the reader to decide for themselves. This book also contains what I feel to be the classic put-down for `Pyramidiots' and I quote: "He [the pyramidiot] is not using facts to construct a theory, but is selecting facts to support a preconceived and unshakable belief. Whatever the techniques a historian chooses to work with, he must use them without prejudice and be prepared to revise, or dismiss, his theory when he runs up against a fact his tools cannot handle." Graham Hancock please note! Despite being written some time ago I found this classic work a refreshing and informative read. Well recommended.