Red Land, Black Land

Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

De: Barbara Mertz

Narrado por: Lorna Raver

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

Reseñas de la Crítica

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

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.

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.

Down to earth

This was a fun practical guide to daily life in ancient Egypt with many examples from original sources. Some of the interesting things were about how they used mathematics and medicine but also relied heavily on spells and magic. There were interesting descriptions on paintings and sculpture, jewelry and cosmetics, household pets and a spoof on a religious play. And of course lots on tombs, mummies and what robbers did to ‘protect’ themselves.

Wow! Great narrator—great history!

Wow! Why can’t every book on history and ancient civilizations be infused with this level of enthusiasm and wit? And that narrator was absolutely incredible! What an absolute delight!

Perhaps the book is better

Any additional comments?

I liked the content for an overview of ancient Egypt although not all subjects were dealt with or dealt with adequately or accurately. Overall I liked the narrator's presentation. However, the usual and inconsistent pronunciation used - with diphthongs as if some of the god names went through a Great Vowel change - was jarring. This along with the missing illustrations of the book made me wish I bought the book instead.

An interesting Primer on Eqyptology

I would have liked a more anecdotal bit of "storytelling." It can be excruciatingly detailed, but informative.

Wonderful!

I got this book because we were headed for Egypt, and what an incredible introduction to everything I would see

Hard to say currently

I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who has any level interest in Ancient Egyptian history. Glad to have listened to this one. Thanks

Fantastic

This is one of the best books I’ve listened to in a long time. The writing is so engaging and amusing. The narrator is simply excellent. I found myself finding any free time I could to listen to it. Highly, highly recommend!

Great

The book was very interesting and well narrated. The author included enough humorous asides to keep things from getting too dry. Speculation was clearly identified as such, and kept to a minimum. Given the available sources, the author did an admirable job of explaining daily life in ancient Egypt, including the various social classes.