The History of Ancient Egypt

By: Bob Brier, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Bob Brier

Length: 24 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Ancient Egyptian civilization is so grand our minds sometimes have difficulty adjusting to it. It lasted 3,000 years, longer than any other on the planet. Its Great Pyramid of Cheops was the tallest building in the world until well into the 19th century and remains the only Ancient Wonder still standing. And it was the most technologically advanced of the ancient civilizations, with the medical knowledge that made Egyptian physicians the most famous in the world.

Yet even after deciphering its hieroglyphs, and marveling at its scarabs, mummies, obelisks, and sphinxes, Egyptian civilization remains one of history's most mysterious, as "other" as it is extraordinary. This chronological survey presents the complete history of ancient Egypt's three great Kingdoms: the Old Kingdom, when the pyramids were built and Egypt became a nation under the supreme rule of the pharaoh and the rules of Egyptian art were established; the Middle Kingdom, when Egypt was a nation fighting to restore its greatness; and the New Kingdom, when all the names we know today-Hatshepsut, Tutankhamen, Ramses the Great, Cleopatra, and others-first appeared. Professor Brier's 48 lectures glisten with the kind of vivid anecdotes and human glimpses that make this ancient world breathe again.

"The fun of history is in the details," he notes. "Knowing that Ramses the Great was crippled by arthritis for the last decade of his long life makes us more sympathetic to the boastful monarch who fathered more than 100 children. If we understand what it was like to be a miner sent to the turquoise mines in the Sinai mountains in the summer, we will feel a kinship with our long-dead counterparts."

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1999 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1999 The Great Courses

Great Course, Great Professor

Could not have been happier with this course.

Delivered by an experienced, enthusiastic professional. You can hear the passion in every sentence.

just wonderful

great sorry, narration, and insights. I've never been more interested in ancient Egypt. 3000 years in 45 lectures, I definitely am motivated to learn more.

From Egypt with love

I am an Egyptian and this is the first time I read about ancient Egypt. I loved every minute of it

Wow!!

I LOVED every minute of this lecture series. I highly recommend it!! Buy it—it’s worth it.

Good to listen to more than once!

You can feel how excited the instructor is about this course. He is very passionate and knowledgeable on the subject. It's really an awesome listen, he also gives great resources to continue researching the subject.

Wonderful walk through Egyptian history

Engaging and enjoyable. Hard to believe that the 48 lectures went so quickly. Will definitely listen again in the future.

Enjoyable Egyptian History Book

my only complaint with this book is that the lecture / author tends to state certain things as factual when they actually are not entirely accurate. So if you're willing to take some of the information with a grain of salt, and Google search to find all relevant facts around what's being discussed, then the book is enjoyable. For example the lecturer notes certain stone structures buildings as being the oldest discovered, but in fact the ones being mentioned are on a list of 10 oldest structures, but certainly they are not the oldest discovered to date. Little inaccuracies such as this make it a bit tedious to listen to a book and then have to research what's being discussed to confirm it's accurate.

Great course!

This is a great course!! It is not current for 2020 but since it's a course on ancient Egypt it hardly matters :)

fascinating

Wonderful lectures. Informative and interesting. The professor was knowledgeable with a good speaking voice. Easy to listen to.

Great course. worth listening to more than once

Great course. worth listening to more than once. disagree on exodus. it was Merneptah not RAMSES II and Joshua took place during second sea people's invasion of EVERYTHING!