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

3.5 stars

3.5 stars

This audiobook consists of 48 lectures discussing the history of Ancient Egypt. It starts with prehistoric Egypt and goes through to the end of the Egyptian empire with Cleopatra.

This audiobook covers a little bit of the whole history of Egypt, which is great for those who have little knowledge of Egypt or who only know parts of the history. Or if you are like me and are a fan of anything involving Ancient Egypt and just want to learn more. The lectures were very easy to understand and followed a linear timeline so it was easy to keep up with the progressing history. The audiobook also came with a supplemental PDF document of the lectures that you can reference while listening to the audiobook. Also it has pictures.

The narrator, Bob Brier, is an experienced Egyptologist. You can clearly tell he knows his history. I really loved how he breaks down the Egyptian names and what the parts of the name meant. It also made it easier to pronounce them. I did have a few issues with him though. My biggest issue was that he biased and frequently gave his opinion on things instead of just sticking to the facts. He also repeated himself a lot which got old after listening for a few hours. Also at one point he uses the word retarded to describe Alexander the Great's halfbrother which I did not like at all.

Another thing that should be noted is that these lectures are now dated. This was published in 2013 and new discoveries and facts have changed some things, but like he states at the end if you are interested in any of these topics do further research and reading. It should also be noted that since these are lecture formats that they are not edited. A few times Brier misspoke and corrected himself. This became confusing during the discussion about the Ramses line of kings (Lecture 34) because he said Ramses the Great a few times instead of the correct Ramses (there were 11 I believe). I actually went back and read this section in the PDF to get a better picture of which Ramses did what.

Overall, this was a fascinating lecture series and I learned a lot. I recommend this audiobook for anyone interested in Ancient Egyptian history. Just remember that it is dated now and he is biased.

excellent series

The Incredibles part of this series is how much Egypt influenced the Western world from everything from the calendar 2 spirituality.

Perfection!

I absolutely loved this lecture! I've been interested in ancient Egypt my whole life!

Excellent Book

Excellent book with excellent presentation. Very useful information about the history of Egypt. Although I am Egyptian and I thought I knew the history of Egypt, but I learned a lot from this book.

Great but for one thing.

it was very entertaining. I enjoyed the stories and Brier expressed opinions and theories with a preface which is refreshing. The only thing that bothered me, but did not alter my rating, is the use of retarded and half-wit in the lecture on Alexander the Great/his brother. Perhaps a change in the times, but it was startling to be sure. Worth the time.

Amazing!!!

I felt transported I recommend watching different archeological Egyptian sites in 4k while listening.

I love that the Great Courses are read/taught by people who are truly passionate about the subject.

Bob Brier was enjoyable to listen to

I didn't really know much about ancient Egypt so it was all new and fascinating to me.

Fantastic!

Bob Brier's lectures are a delight. So much knowledge and detail. only downside is that he focus only on the Pharaohs, but overall truly amazing course.

Easy going Egypt course

At the beginning I was aback for the casualness of the professor about the topics. He constantly used tons of adjectives about his likings and telling bits that passionate him rather than sticking to a proper objectivity. The result actually is a course that is dynamic and is full of little stories that stick rather than a bunch of data that would have been a bore instead. So I ended appreciating very much the perspective and the narrative.

Great Listen

Loved, loved loved this! Educational yet such great stories. it was so easy to see the subject mattet