The Good Kings

Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World

De: Kara Cooney

Narrado por: Kara Cooney

Written in the tradition of historians like Stacy Schiff and Amanda Foreman who find modern lessons in ancient history, this provocative narrative explores the lives of five remarkable pharaohs who ruled Egypt with absolute power, shining a new light on the country's 3,000-year empire and its meaning today.

In a new era when democracies around the world are threatened or crumbling, best-selling author Kara Cooney turns to five ancient Egyptian pharaohs - Khufu, Senwosret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa - to understand why many so often give up power to the few, and what it can mean for our future. As the first centralized political power on earth, the pharaohs and their process of divine kingship can tell us a lot about the world's politics, past and present. Every animal-headed god, every monumental temple, every pyramid, every tomb offers extraordinary insight into a culture that combined deeply held religious beliefs with uniquely human schemes to justify a system in which one ruled over many. From Khufu, the man who built the Great Pyramid at Giza as testament to his authoritarian reign, and Taharqa, the last true pharaoh who worked to make Egypt great again, we discover a clear lens into understanding how power was earned, controlled, and manipulated in ancient times. And in mining the past, Cooney uncovers the reason why societies have so willingly chosen a dictator over democracy, time and time again.

©2021 Kara Cooney (P)2021 National Geographic

interesting and informative

3 stars - I liked it

In this book Cooney discusses five ancient Egyptian pharaohs: Khufu, Senworsret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa. She talks about their reigns and how they ruled. She also discusses the patriarchy and how it influenced these men and continues to influence us today.

After reading Cooney’s previous two books, I was excited to get my hands on this one. I learned a lot about the women rulers of Egypt in the previous books and knew I would learn a lot in this book as well. I did learn a lot about these pharaohs but also about how their authoritarian regime impacted the future and is still impacting it today.

It was fascinating learning the history of these men. They may be praised as great men but that didn’t mean they didn’t do terrible things. One thing I like about Cooney’s writing is that she doesn’t ignore the evidence that some of these men were most likely tyrants, had slaves, and were harsh to their people.

Khufu is the builder of the Great Pyramid but he was a tyrant and there is evidence of that. Senworset III was great at propaganda and used it to establish supremacy over Egypt’s elite, but it quickly fell apart after he died. Akhenaten created a new religion centering around one god that allowed him to control everything in his kingdom. It didn’t last though and had destabilizing effects on that dynasty. Ramses the Great spread his image throughout Egypt and is still widely known today because of it. His reign was long and filled with many wild stories about his reign, some of which are still believed today. Taharqa used religious zeal to unify Egypt and justify his actions as just and moral, even when they weren’t.

She compares these ancient rulers to today's leaders and shows that while we have made some changes, there is still a lot of dismantling that needs to be done of the patriarchy if things will ever get better. Overall, this was interesting and gives a unique look at patriarchy in the past and present.

Everyone Should Read This!

brilliant take on politics & culture, from ancient kingdoms to modern despots & demagogues, with a note of hope at the end that we might learn our history & not repeat it.

Interesting but repetitive

I like the idea of looking at what lenses we are viewing history with and how that definitively colors our assertions as well as how we judge our current day.

That being said I found myself easily being distracted while listening to this book as we are repeatedly told of the evils of the patriarchy. I definitely agree on some points and would love to learn more, but I was feeling brow beaten by the end.

The American political conclusions are already dated

I bought this because I liked her other works, but the heavy-handed American political conclusions are full of false equivocations and are already dated. It makes it hard to trust the political analysis about the Pharaonic rulers when the analysis about modern American politics seems to be stretched and inaccurate in places.

Great read, takes a while to get rolling

Loved the core of this book, but it took me a while to get into.