Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs

A Popular History of Ancient Egypt

By: Barbara Mertz

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

In this updated version of the classic of popular Egyptology, Barbara Mertz combines her doctorate in Egyptology at the famed Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago with a life-long enthusiasm for ancient Egypt. Her love of the subject is contagious and makes her the perfect guide to ancient Egypt for the student, the layman, and those who plan to visit or have visited the Nile Valley.

©2007 MPM Manor, Inc. (P)2007 Tantor

Great book, great narration

This is the best historical audiobook I've ever listened to, and I've listened to a lot of them. The content is wonderfully accessible and the narrator is a delight. It's like listening to your grandmother tell a great story...if your grandmother had an advanced degree in Egyptology.

Ok I guess

I got this book based on other recommendations. I love to listen to history and wanted to like this based on what I had read from other reviewers. While it does have some interesting parts, it just becomes too cute by far sometimes. The attempt at humor gets old. I would have preferred a little more history and little less author's opinion.

A joy to read (hear)

More interesting than the subject matter is the author's peculiar style. I absolutely enjoyed every minute of the reading.

Fun, fun, fun

I'd love to meet Barbara Mertz someday. You fall in love with her personality in this book. And Lorna Raver was just the perfect choice for the tone of this lovely book. Great listening, very entertaining, and a fun topic.

Mertz makes ancient history interesting

I thoroughly enjoyed this history of Ancient Egypt by Barbara Mertz. She was able to bring the historical characters and times to life without sacrificing her scholarly ethics - she always carefully explained her own prejudices and opinions to the reader. Her excellence as a writer is undeniable, and one can see why she went on to be such a popular author. And also, her scholarship explains why her popular books were so good.

I also found it helpful in reading the book to rent the hard copy from the library and follow along with the maps and plates. For example, where is Abydos and the cataracts of the Nile? While I was at it, I also rented the book Red Land, Black Land, which was also written by Mertz in the 1960's about all aspects of ancient Egyptian culture. My library just happened to have an original edition of the book.

Best book on audible

I’ve listened to a number of books from audible and various recording companies this has to be one of the best performed and most well written books I’ve ever heard! I loved her snappy style and ability to distill 30 centuries worth of history into a comprehensible book. You will not be disappointed!

Good if you love Egyptian history

A good and somehow entertaining book that tries to condense the complex and long history of pharaonic Egypt and the many ancient dynasties. The book is very well researched and the narration (for Audible version) is quite fitting, I found it entertaining but a little scattered at big portions of it, especially with the rapid description of the following dynasties.

Even if you are a history lover, you may still find the book quite dull at parts, so I would recommend it only if you are really into your 'Egyptian history'

Even thought the narration was excellent, I found the weird stops jarring to the experience, I. E. Pauses in between sentences while there was almost no pause when going from one chapter to another.

Really Enjoyable

I liked this one even more than I did Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt, probably mostly because while Red Land, Black Land covers the daily life of Regular Joe ancient Egyptians, this book covers the monuments and tombs and personalities I was already familiar with. Also, I will admit that I was mostly familiar with the aforementioned monuments and tombs and personalities from reading the author's Amelia Peabody series--heh! It was fun to go back and visit places Amelia and Emerson had been in those books--the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur, Deir el-Bahri, el-Amarna... And like I said about Red Land, Black Land, Mertz lends the same sense of humor to her non-fiction books that she does to her fiction, and I found her ocassional sarcastic or snarky or tongue-in-cheek comments amusing and delightful. Well worth a read, for Peabody fans, or for anyone interested in ancient Egyptian history.

Excellent

I need more stars for the narrator's performance! She really brought the book to life.

Love it

If you could sum up Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs in three words, what would they be?

You would think the narrator had written the material herself for she is so lively and in tune with the text. She did such a good job of telling the story I kept falling asleep before the chapter ended (I listen in bed before sleeping) and I mean that glowingly. It is like being told secrets by an eccentric aunt who loves her field and who has a firm foundation in what is fact and what is guess-work and is always on point to differentiate between the two. I love reading about ancient Greece and Rome but never yet ventured into Egyptian territory and I am glad I listened to the other reviewers. I just downloaded another book by this author/narrator pairing which I can not wait to start!

What about Lorna Raver’s performance did you like?

Ecitement, understanding and pace. This could have all been read so dryly. Fantastic job. Best yet I've heard in the history genre.

Any additional comments?

Get it - you won't regret it!