Red Land, Black Land

Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

By: Barbara Mertz

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Esteemed Egyptologist Barbara Mertz updates her widely praised social history of the people of ancient Egypt, which was originally published in 1968. Combining impeccable scholarship with a delightfully personal style, the author reconstructs the life of the Egyptians from birth to death, and beyond death, too.

She also presents much fascinating detail on the building of the pyramids and the intricate art of mummification. Students and laymen alike will enjoy the wealth of authentic material on every aspect of Egyptian life that Mertz provides.

©2008 MPM Manor, Inc. (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"One can only highly recommend the book." ( Natural History)

A perfect audiobook

As an Egyptology student I appreciated the flow and content of the book. As a newly professed audiobook lover, the narrator is charming and I intend on seeking out more books narrated by her specifically. If/when I publish an audiobook I will be sure to find someone like her.

WHAT A GREAT LISTEN !

This book was a real surprise, I mean- what can you really expect from this title? Well how about a superbly written, warm, articulate, intelligent, insightful, memorable experience. In other words, Non-fiction at its best. Though its been years since I listened to this-I can still hear the narration in my head, partly because I relistened to parts of it repeatedly-sure, but mostly because the book and narration worked so well together and told a surprisingly great story, obviously one memorable enough for me to go back years later and still be able to remember how good it was.and want to review it.

Wonderful!

My 7 and 10 year old daughters who study a lot of history as home schoolers, LOVE this book. We listen to it every day during meals and in the car. Full of information which brings ancient Egypt to life in an entertaining manner. For adults and young history buffs, a great listen!

Best History Book

Would you consider the audio edition of Red Land, Black Land to be better than the print version?

Maybe, but the prose is brilliant and humorous, but the reader does an excellent job of expressing as it was meant

What was one of the most memorable moments of Red Land, Black Land?

Every bit of it is interesting and funny, very tongue and cheek

Which character – as performed by Lorna Raver – was your favorite?

The author

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The ancients were just like we are

Any additional comments?

As a historian, I've been through countless histories and this is the most enjoyable one I have ever read/listened to, historians take themselves far too seriously. Read the companion book to this one, then take on this prolific authors works filled with the sam,e kind of humor, Barbara Michaels and Elizabeth Peters.

Wow!

I can understand why this book has been in print for forty years. It is incredibly easy to enjoy, full of interesting details and makes me want to jump up and run off to Egypt to see all the places described.
I have read the author writing as Elizabeth Peters and knew she had an academic background, but had assumed her scholarly texts would be dry and uninviting. Boy, was I wrong.
The reader does a nice job at keeping up the pace and making it all seem like a lark. I’m so glad I read this.

Mocking Narration

I am curious to know why Lorna Raver thought it appropriate to narrate this book in such a mocking style. It's annoying and terribly distracting. Not sure what you were going for here but it's not working.

Entertaining and insightful

Richly detailed and at times humorous, this comprehensive overview brings the world of the ancient Egyptian to life. Covers all the basics in an educated but very digestible manner. Narrator was perfect.

Amelia Peabody would give this two thumbs up!

I've read and loved all the Amelia Peabody books and really appreciated that they were written by a real Egyptologist, so when I saw this book written by that real Egyptologist, I thought I'd give it a try.
It was fun recognizing a lot of the locales Ms Mertz writes about from reading her fiction writing as Elizabeth Peters.
I especially enjoyed the narrator, she reminded me a lot of Barbara Rosenblat who narrates the Amelia Peabody books.
I highly recommend this book for any fan of Elizabeth Peters/Amelia Peabody.

A gem.

this may possibly be my favorite book. the brilliant author knows exactly how to deliver valuable information effectively

Absolutely brilliant!

Ever since I first encountered Barbara Mertz's writing, I've fallen in love with her voice and style, and her Red Land, Black Land – Daily Life in Ancient Egypt really hit the mark for me considering that I'm currently doing an absolute ton of research for a novel I'm working on. But first a word on the narrator, Lorna Raver, who really captures the author's somewhat cheeky, often humorous tone. She most certainly adds a whole extra dimension to the listening experience.

As the book's title suggests, this is an overview of daily life in Egypt, from the royal pinnacle of ancient Egyptian civilisation, the pharaoh and his pyramids, all the way down to the Black Land's peasants. In it, we gain an almost tactile idea of what life during the ancient times must have been like – what people wore, how they built their homes, what pets they kept, what they ate. For a subject that can, excuse my choice of words, be as dry as dust, Barbara injects wit and verve into the text in a way that makes for an engaging journey of discovery.

Some of you might have encountered Barbara Mertz's Amelia Peabody mysteries (which I recently started reading, and let me tell you the writing is a treasure), so to have this book filled with such a comprehensive overview of what life during the ancient times was possibly like is marvellous. It's difficult to parse that the book first came out more than fifty years ago! The prose still feels fresh, and while I'm sure there are plenty more discoveries we can discuss, if you're new to ancient Egypt (or like me, even if you're not) Red Land, Black Land will still take you on a vastly entertaining and informative journey of discovery.

I could probably be an endless Barbara Mertz fangrrrl so I'm going to leave off here by saying that if you're looking for an introduction into ancient Egypt, then you cannot go wrong with the two non-fiction books she wrote on the topic. I've finally tracked down a hard copy of Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs, and I'll continue trawling second-hand bookshops until I find Red Land, Black Land.