It's the splashiest period of all ancient history... a near Jerry Springer opera of lust, betrayal, and tawdry affairs. And yet, Michael Grant makes it about as dull as he possibly can.

He presents a very factual and well-researched account, though I take exception to several of his assertions and theories, including the one where he asserts that Octavian wanted Cleopatra to commit suicide because he was afraid the Romans would want to free her as they did her sister Arsinoe. Arsinoe was just one random Egyptian princess who defied Julius Caesar. Cleopatra was the occidental temptress who had ensnared and ruined two of Rome's best men. She was probably the most vilified and hated of all Rome's enemies in history, for with Cleopatra, it was intensely personal. The very idea that the bloodthirsty Romans would have a sudden sentimental streak towards her is pretty laughable.

But on the whole, his theories are soundly researched and well justified, even when I disagree with them. The book has some lovely portraits and a more in depth examination of Cleopatra's forebearers than is usually presented in her biographies. Moreover, he has an excellent perspective on the supposed 'inevitability' of Cleopatra's loss, and how the world may well have been different had things gone another way.

It's a reasonable and scholarly work that makes a fine addition to my collection. If you're looking for something to move you, you may prefer Margaret George's "The Memoirs of Cleopatra".

Cleopatra is a fascinating figure... renowned as a patron of arts and learning, a gifted linguist, and a canny politicians, she is too often remembered as a sex kitten. Grant cuts thru the myths, pro- and anti propaganda to deliver what is probably the best biography on Cleopatra. Writen by one of the marquee lights of classical history, the book is written in academic style, although for the most part it is highly readable. To be honest, I found the first preliminary chapters to be somewhat slow going, but once the story begins it takes off like a grand soap opera. Not as splashy as some other works on the great queen, this is *the* place to go for a detailed, comprehensive look at Cleopatra.

When it comes to ancient history, Michael Grant is the greatest! I've read several of his other books and he never fails to amuse and inform. His book on Cleopatra is informative as well as entertaining. Cleopatra was a Greek Macedonian ruler of Egypt with a deep love for culture and powerful men. Her liaisons with Caesar and Antony are very well described, as are her achievements as queen. Mr. Grant is truly the greatest!

Dr. Caesar, an English major and American literature professor, purports to share her personal experiences in the Middle East. The problem is that throughout the book she continually makes sweeping statements with no factual back up. For example, she sticks in the statement "I wonder if there was something of this in America's antagonism toward the Middle East" in the middle of a story about touring Dendara. Apparently the author wants to be a political scientist without taking the time to do the research or study necessary for the conclusions she reaches. At the same time though she does share some personal experiences we virtually do not share at all in her courting and marriage to an Egyptian man. A very disappointing book that I would not bother reading.

The author has wonderful insights not only into the lives of a handful of Mid-Easterners she got to know, but also into human nature and our problems in understading other cultures. She points out that the women behind those veils are not just submissive faceless people but just like us -- some highly educated and intelligent, some highly maternal, etc. I highly recommend the book. However, her insights into the Muslim world are based on getting to know a few people; it doesn't truly contain a deep grasp of the political and social issues, and I don't think she makes any claims that it does. This is just one book out of many that can help us understand Middle Eastern cultures.

I did find it disappointing that she shared so little into her relationship with the Middle Eastern man she married; if she wanted to help others understand crossing over cultural borders, that facet of her life, alone, may have been more invaluable than talking about the other people that she got to know on a much more superficial level.

I just finished this book and I loved it. It was in with travel essay/travel narrative books, and as I liked to read about the Middle East I picked it up. I was pleasantly suprised that there was a bit more to it than just the usual I went here, did this, saw that, and aren't they odd. Caesar's book makes you think. There is an increased interest here in the US lately, (since 9/11.books are popping up all over) in how people in the Middle East live. Still despite this still most of the people I talk to unfortunately still have the sterotypical impressions from news media, of violent people with guns or of cowering oppressed women in black, etc, and everyone in the Middle East is the same. There is sooo much more too it than that and Caesar helps to show Saudis and Egyptians as real people, with real lives, personalities, intelligence, etc, caring about their families, their futures, the world around them and going about their daily lives. Its a great book. It also inspired me to read some of the books she mentions, such as Passage to India.

I do wish she had written a bit more about her Egyptian husband. She very much glosses over that part. They met, talked about books, and you next you know they are getting married. There is nothing about how it all worked out. Did his family have a problem with it? Did they live together somewhere, or did she live on the women's campus and him elswhere? It doesn't say. It kind of implies they were happy but thats about it.
I'd still give it 5 stars though.

Good graphics, but little on reading, writing, grammar, sythetic or general principles of the language or extracting meaning from actual Egyptian inscriptions which have a string of hieroglyphs. Better for beginners: Karl-Theodor Zauzich. Hieroglyphs without mystery: an introduction to ancient egyptian writing. (translated and adapted for english speaking readers by Ann Macy Roth) University of Texas Press, Austin. 1992. 121 pp. This has actual examples from the Tutankhamun exhibition. After this book, Colier and Manley.

It would help if there were other reviews that indicated the easiest path to mastering other ancient languages with cultural samples as well, e.g. egyptian hieroglyphics, akkadian cuneiform, sanskrit, biblical hebrew, ancient greek. The main question I have is: What is the first book that is easy (but actually gives you some useful information on one or two simple but original inscriptions)? Second book on some, but not all, actual grammar and vocabulary for some brief sample of literature. Third book more complete grammar. Fourth book grammar, more vocabulary, readings, etc. I can do better if I advance in easy, digestible steps, but I am nevertheless willing to commit to the effort required for mastery as my ultimate goal.

This book does not really teach you how to read and write heiroglyphs very well but it does show many words and how they were used on tombs and ancient manuscripts. This book is probably not the best book for someone who is a beginner and trying to learn how to learn hieroglyphs.

This thin trade paperback has some merits. If you are an artsy person, it contains nicely drawn heiroglyphics at a large size that makes it easy to learn to duplicate the finer details. It combines them to form some simple words like "daughter, water, to attack, to fly, war, enemy" to give your art some true meaning. As a art book, as a "how to draw heiroglyphics convincingly" I give the book 4 stars. As a manual for learning how to read them? I give it 1 star.

The scholar will find little of use in this book. There is an incredibly limited vocabulary provided and almost no information on the actual writing process (grammar, orientation, phonetic transcription). The word bank covered would only take a chapter of time in a more indepth book. (Try Mark Colliers' How to Read Egyptian Heiroglyphics A Step By Step for a good teach yourself to read manual.)

If you are looking for well done examples of heiroglyphics for art purposes, this is a useful book. If you wish to expand your knowledge in the reading and writing of heiroglyphics you will be terribly disappointed at the waste of money.

I found this book to be an interesting read in theory, but found the details a little boring. If you're into a lot of numerolgy or like to add, subtract, multiply, and divide for the sheer enjoyment of it, you will like this book. Frankly, I thought this book could have been about half as long and I wouldn't have felt slighted. His implied theory of religious evolution seemed a bit lacking and I didn't care for his branding of Pauline doctrine as an inferior religion to Christ's teachings. As far as the prophetic themes, well, we'll just have to wait and see, but I won't be holding my breath. I guess I don't give Edgar Cayce, although interesting, the same kind of weight this author gives.

I was really looking forward to reading this book when it was given to me, but was dissapointed to find it a very hard read, not to mention the fact that the author goes at great lengths to draw prophetic codes in the measurements of the pyramid with very little to substantiate his claims.It's over anylytical approach gets tiring midway through the book.One will find that many of the his predictions in recent years have been innacurate.From a historical perspecitve it is very interesting, from a metyphiscal it is not.

Whatever the face value of the author's analysis, the book is really worth reading at least for the sake of the thoughts and feelings it triggers. It is certainly more than a "what if..."

First,This is not a historical book. When I decided to readed I did because I thought it deals with theory of the identification of Aknaten as Moses. It doesn't! You'd better check Ahmed Osman books then. Here the author reviews, amply, the western litrature that regarded Moses monotheism as an egyptian invention; the authors who traced Moses religion, not his historical identity, back it's roots in the egyptian religion. He did not come up with anything new, though he did a tremendous job. In brief: this book is not for everyone; it's a study...for those who want to study. A great research..,but.. a very boring book

As several readers have pointed out, Assmann's work is not really suitable to the casual reader, nor the reader unlearned in Latin. That said, most reviewers have suggested that the book be reviewed by someone fairly up on the field.

Assmann calls his project a "mnemohistory," meaning by this a history of the way certain aspects of an ancient history are remembered and distorted over time. The central focus of this mnemohistory, as indicated by the title, is Moses and his Egyptian origins. Assmann is a distinguished Egyptologist, so he wants to root this mnemohistory in Egypt, not in any of the numerous pseudo- or para-Egyptian texts (the Hermetica, for example, or Plato's various renderings of Egypt). In short, the question is this: What, if anything, might ancient Egyptian historical events have to do with later Western conceptions of (1) Egypt, (2) Judaism, (3) Moses, and (4) monotheism in general?
. Assmann begins with a seemingly radical thesis: that the historical figure(s) represented in "Moses" was an Egyptian priestly exponent of the Akhenaten/Amarna monotheism, which lasted a couple hundred years and ended under the reign of Tutankhamun. The implication of this is that Judaism, and in particular Mosaic Law, was constructed as a counter-religion to normative (i.e. non-Akhenaten) Egyptian religion.
. Having demonstrated that this thesis is plausible, Assmann moves on to examine how this peculiar origin of Judeo-Christian ritual and legal prescription was remembered and reinterpreted across the millennia. He examines Maimonides, John Spencer, and Ralph Cudworth, showing them all recognizing the Judaism-equals-Egypt-backwards connection, but interpreting it variously for philoSemitic, antiSemitic, philoEgyptian, or other purposes.
. Next, he moves on to examine the flowering and spreading of this debate through the eighteenth century, where it influenced Deist and Masonic discourse, as well as that of major philosophers. Finally, he moves to what seems to me the heart of the book, an analysis of Freud's _Moses and Monotheism_, examining the ways in which Freud utilizes psychoanalytic techniques to reveal the same half-remembered ancient trauma beneath the very origins of monotheism --- that is, Freud realizes that the hideous cultural trauma inflicted upon Egyptian culture by the Akhenaten revolution led to suppression, repression, and thus to expression in not only monotheism but also a violent aversion for monotheism's apparent originators. In short, Freud discovers in the Amarna trauma the repressed origins of anti-Semitism.
. The book concludes with an Egyptologist's analysis of the monotheism of Amarna, on which this reader is not able to pronounce; that said, Assmann's credentials certainly suggest that this should be a most expert reconstruction.

_Moses the Egyptian_ is an extraordinary piece of visionary scholarship, wide-ranging and courageous, but copiously annotated and supported. If, having read this review, you think this book sounds like the niftiest approach to Foucaultian archaeology, or some similar theoretical structure, this book is probably for you. If, on the other hand, you want a careful history in the more classic sense of a narrative, with people and events, and some sort of proof of who Moses "really was," you're not going to get much out of this.

This book is a scholarly discourse as to how the memory of Egyptian monotheism survived in Western Culture. I use the word scholarly advisedly, not only because the book is well researched and annotated but it is also written for scholars. It does not lend itself to cursory reading but needs to be studied. This may be the reason why previous reviewers, although favorable,did not inform the reader of the points made in the book.
For me the most important aspect was that Assmann clearly distinguishes between Moses as a historic figure and Moses as portrayed in the literature. He calls this phenomenon mnemohistory. Namely history not as it transpired according to current knowledge but history as it is remembered. This is important because we know nothing about the historic Moses. Assmann then goes on to describe previous views held about Moses having been culturally,if not ethnically, an Egyptian and how he had created a counter-religion to Egyptian practices. He reviews the works of authors ranging from the 17th to the 20th century; with a number of them having passed into oblivion over the centuries. Assmann also subscribes to Freud's view that Akhenaten's monotheism was the model upon which Moses had built his own edifice. Others may argue that the biblical Moses was not yet a true monotheist because the god of Moses is still in competition with other existing gods. Had he indeed been the universal cosmic god of Akhenaten he would not need to have been "jealous" or to "magnify" himself on the Egyptians, as the Bible repeatedly tells us. Assmann accepts,furthermore, Freud's idea of repressed trauma which remains latent in the subconcious where it acts as a disturbing element and eventually breaks back into consciousness in distorted form. This is not a biologic fact but merely psychoanalytic theory. Although popular at this time, it has not been proven to occur in individuals let alone ethnic groups or nations.
The book also abounds with Latin and French quotations which are not always translated. The Greek and German ones are. Thus a proper evaluation of this book requires information which the average - even reasonably well educated - American reader does not readily possess. This also highlights the problem one has with a single 1-5 star rating system. For scholarship it deserves the four stars given but for ease of readability I would have to reduce them to about 2. The book will,therefore, be best appreciated by professionals in the field rather than laypersons.

It is a good book as it intends to be a quick reference, but not enough to plan a trip by it. I do find the name misleading. Not really what I expected.

As a first time traveler to Egypt, I found this book to be very helpful. There were not a lot of details, however, you should always do your detailed homework on the places you visit BEFORE you leave the country.

Each night before arriving at the next destination, I would read about the city we would be visiting. It gave very good descriptions on the sites we would be seeing and in general, was a very useful tool. It is small enough that it fits anywhere in your bag. It includes diagrams and history of the tombs and historic sites. Also includes what to wear and what not wear. Word of caution...be very considerate of their customes. You are a guest in a third world country. The author covers other situations too that should be considered when traveling to this exciting land.

For those of you who have not had the experience of traveling to Egypt, I can say it was the trip of a lifetime! We would go back in a heartbeat! When the world situation calms down, go...the people are friendly and we never felt uncomfortable.

This is a great little referece book filled with little tidbits of information that other books don't offer. I would reccomend however that you also read other books like The Travelers Key to Ancient Egypt by West for broader detail.
I enjoyed this book so much that I will definately read more books by this author.

I had never read any of Pauline Gedge's books before, but when I stumbled across this one, I grabbed it! It's an enjoyable story, and Ms. Gedge kept it simple, which is nice for younger readers, and those who want something fresh and entertaining. It is filled with the history of ancient Egypt, and I found myself drawn into the story and the setting so much that I didn't want the book to end. The sequel, House of Illusions, was very good as well.

As usual Pauline Gedge makes you enter the world of Ancient Egypt keeping you in it until you finished the book. This is just another wonderful story as she knows how to write them.
The sequel "House of Illusions" is not as good though, it seems like she had to write an end to the first one which did not need it. One of my favorite authors anyway.

House of Dreams is the personal diary of Thu of Aswat, and it is a fascinating document. Written in the first person, each page chronicles her life from poor peasant girl in the rural Nile farming village of Aswat, to favored concubine in the Royal Harem of Ramses III at Pi-Ramesse. Omitting nothing, this blue-eyed daughter of an Egyptian midwife and Libu mercenary takes us on a journey that travels a path from childish innocence to vile debauchery. We are with her every step of the way. We walk with the young Thu as she leads the family bovine "Precious Sweet Eyes" to the banks of the Nile. We plunge into the Nile with Thu in the dead of night and board the barge of the Seer Hui, where she offers her virginity to the gods of ambition. We witness the education and humiliation she endures to achieve external beauty and power. We sympathize with her as she is cruely manipulated by those with a terrible agenda. Sadly we watch, as by her own choice she becomes a murderess to fulfill her impossible dreams. Lady of the Reeds is a self-serving diary, as Thu attempts to justify her actions to all who read it. Not only do we see through this transparancy, but in the end so does she. What is chilling about this story is our recognition... that we all have some Thu in us. The life story of Thu of Aswat continues sixteen years later in the sequel, House of Illusions.

I read this book years ago, and was recently reminded of it when I came upon a transcription of the original Ancient Egyptian story on which it was based. (See Standing in Motion's reference above.)

Gedge is able to evoke an easily believable Egypt - one can almost feel the sun on your face, and smell the Great River. All of her novels are meticulously researched and the reader is drawn into authentic history through the medium of story.

I sincerely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fiction based in Ancient Egypt, or in fact, to anyone who is looking for something absorbing and out of the ordinary. You don't need to know anything about Ancient Egypt to feel completely at home.

Pauline Gedge is perhaps the best author currently writing Ancient Egyptian Historical Fiction. I enjoy her work tremendously. She creates complex, believable characters and gives the breath of life to a rich, beautiful culture that flourished by the Nile several thousand years ago. While not her best work (my personal favorite is Child of the Morning), Mirage is an enjoyable read which showcases Gedge's attention to detail and character development.

FELL COMPLETELY IN LOVE WITH THE STORY. GREAT FOR ANYONE JUST MESMERIZED BY EGYPT. THE ENDING TOOK MY BREATH AWAY. I FELT AS IF I WERE IN EGYPT. FAST READ, ENTERTAINING.

Seeing the reviews for this work as they appear, it seems that a few remarks are in order. While Redford has certainly gathered a broad amount of data, and attempted to harmonize it, yet it must be understood by the reader that his work is far from being "authoritative" or "objective" -- and certainly it is not supported by Ancient Near Eastern Scholarshp. This work, although a good compendium of data, has been recognized from its inception as fraught with errors. In the past decade (at the very least), several (*quite* valid) objections have been raised, by Egyptologists and Ancient Near Eastern specialists alike (including dissentions by a former student of his, James K. Hoffmeier), to many of his general methodological approaches to interpreting ancient history. Specific objections to this work have followed, naturally.

Since there is far from enough space to write a comprehensive review of his work here, the (serious!) student of Ancient Orient should consult the following reviews: (1) K. A. Kitchen, Biblical Archaeology Review, 19, no.1:6,8; (2) Stephen E. Thompson, BASOR (Bulletin of the American Oriental Schools of Research) vol. 294 (May 1994), pp.102ff ("The greatest weakness of this book is undoubtedly the carelessness with which it was produced"); and (3) Rainey, Anson F. "Remarks on D. Redford's Eg., Can., and Isr. in Anc. Times." BASOR vol. 295 (Aug. 1994), pp.81-85 ("There is no doubt that Redford's book will be consulted by many teachers of bible, biblical history (!), and ancient Near Eastern history. Most of those teachers will probably not be professionally trained to pass critical judgment on Redford's interpretations; and since his is virtually the only such monograph in English on the market, it will doubtless be taken as the most up-to-date 'authority.' Therefore, this reviewer feels an obligation to raise certain points and to protest Redford's overconfident assertions with regard to [these points].").

This is an incredibly comprhensive account of ancient Egypt and its Asian neighbors. It may contain more detail than some readers may want at first reading, but since then, I have found the specifics useful in clarifying other material that I am reading. Mr. Redford takes an even-handed approach with his materials and considers various viewpoints. Archaeological findings are cited, many ancient texts are quoted and some, but not many, photographs are present, and welcome. There are some typo's in my edition (EYGPT and the like).

The relationship of Greece and Israel to (one of) their common ancestors, Egypt, is one of the mysteries of world history in the way they both appear in parallel time. The branch leading to Israel is presented in fascinating fashion in this work and puts the history of the Old Testament in its right context as an account of the transition from an old to new world, in the New Age of classical antiquity.

If you want to learn how to speak and write in ancient Egyptain this is not the write book for you to read. If you are serious about learning Egyptain you should look at books by Mark Coiler.

If you really want to know about reading and understanding Hieroglyphics, I would not recommend this book.

What you really want is: "How to read egyptian hieroglyphs: a step-by-step guide to teach yourself - by Mark Collier".

This book is a very junior version which doesn't provide nearly enough examples or transliterations for the reader to make any sense of what the language was all about.

I first found this book at UCD. It was part of a larger course on world languages. I later went on to take a year of Hieroglyphics at UCD using Gardners Egyptian Grammer. I found this to be an excellent introduction to hieroglyphics and use it now as a quick reference. I give it to all my friends who have just a passing fancy for ancient Egyptian. It delivers a lot of information without being too indepth. It gives you a nice overview of the history and structure of the language without being too much like a text book. It also gives you a bit of the beauty of this language. I recommend it for everyone starting out in hieroglyphics.