• The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

  • By: Toby Wilkinson
  • Narrated by: Michael Page
  • Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,047 ratings)

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The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt  By  cover art

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

By: Toby Wilkinson
Narrated by: Michael Page
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Publisher's summary

In this landmark work, one of the world's most renowned Egyptologists tells the epic story of this great civilization, from its birth as the first nation-state to its final absorption into the Roman Empire - 3,000 years of wild drama, bold spectacle, and unforgettable characters.

Award-winning scholar Toby Wilkinson captures not only the lavish pomp and artistic grandeur of this land of pyramids and pharaohs but for the first time reveals the constant propaganda and repression that were its foundations. Drawing upon 40 years of archaeological research, Wilkinson takes us inside an exotic tribal society with a pre-monetary economy and decadent, divine kings who ruled with all-too-recognizable human emotions.

Riveting and revelatory, filled with new information and unique interpretations, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt will become the standard source about this great civilization, one that lasted - so far - longer than any other.

©2010 Toby Wilkinson (P)2017 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"This is a penetrating and authoritative overview of a violent ancient civilization often revered by contemporary scholars and enthusiasts." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The parts Hollywood missed

A comprehensive study of Egyptian history, almost textbookish in style. After listening, I would recommend a kindle or book format. The complexity of the names and places would have been easier to distinguish visually.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Infornative, Concise, Rich in Details, but...

The history is told (it could be argued appropriately) from 21st century lens steeped in 21st century western values. Whether it is the reader or the narrator, the tone can get quite judgmental, and it may be good to approach the material lest we lose sight of the political structures necessary for the running of such a state. It is a well written, chronologically sound and ordered book well worth reading/listening to.

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56 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely superb!

Very very well done. More history books should be done like this one. The narrator was perfect for the material. A real pleasure to listen too!

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24 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

loved this book!!

I am a history honk. Listening to this book helped me relax and lessen stress during current 90 hour work weeks.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating history

Toby Wilkinson has written a masterpiece of historical research on ancient Egypt. It is lively, entertaining and contains fascinating details on the subject. This book fills in many holes in not just ancient Egyptian history but also in the history of the ancient Middle East. Michael Page does a masterful job of reading the book and pronouncing the many Egyptian names, phrases and entire passages from original sources. Well worth the time.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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what a freaking book!!!

If you want to learn about ancient Egypt, how it came to be, and where it went; please do yourself a favor and buy this book right now! definitely one of my favorite audiobooks to date!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very comprehensive but the timeline could be better

It would have been helpful if the author had tied events in Egypt to events elsewhere that the reader could recognize so the timeline would be more understandable.

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33 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great history, just one section a bit disjointed

Great history of Egypt. Just one later section on religion seemed treated topically and out of the rest of the book’s historical flow.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Does what is intended

Surprisingly listenable for what it was intended to do, provide an overview of Egypt founding to end of the pharaonic ages.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Nice balanced history of Egypt

Really interesting history - and I learned quite a lot. Until I read this book I had only the vaguest ideas of ancient Egypt, where it was a fairly continuous monolith - with a few breaks in continuity (old, middle, new, Ptolemaic). I did not really understand the amount of time involved and how it changed over time and now I do. Some have complained about the moralizing, but its good to be reminded of uncomfortable truths and it really didn't get in the way to telling the story and it personally made me think about the organization of the society and society in general. Also, very little time was spent on this particular aspect. - its really only occasionally mentioned and then fairly briefly.

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