Better than the Amanda Peabody series | Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

Funny and Descriptive | Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt | Barbara Mertz

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	• Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt Barbara Mertz William Morrow, 2008 - 432 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Fascinating!

This book deals with a broad range of aspects of daily Egyptian life in Antiquity: housing, food, medicine, architecture, religion, etc.

It constitutes an excellent complement to `Tombs, Temples and Hieroglyphs' by the same author which covers history in an essentially classical fashion.

In this case, the author's comments are generally interesting though sometimes a bit longish and too personal.

In the audio book version, the narrator's maternal voice and intonations are very much in tune with the text. At times, you think of your grandmother reading you bedtime stories!

Overall, this is a worthwhile book for anyone interested in ancient Egypt.

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Better than the Amanda Peabody series

I wish that Dr. Mertz would write more non-fiction. Her Amanda Peabody mystery series, written under the nom de plume of Elizabeth Peters, is harmless entertainment. But her books on ancient Egypt are sharp, witty, well-researched and accessible. She brings to the sometimes dry subject matter a lively style and easy competence; it's like being taken on a tour of the ancient land of Egypt by an old and knowledgeable friend. She tells us about the everyday life of farmers, scribes, warriors, kings and commoners, with pithy comments on their art, furniture, clothing and diet. It is a comprehensive and interesting introduction to Egypt, the Egyptians, and Egyptology. Too many books aimed at laymen on this topic dwell overmuch on tombs and mummies and kings; Dr. Mertz' summation of the daily routines of quite ordinary Egyptians brings them vividly to life. The people of the Black Land (their name for Egypt) come alive as quite approachable human beings, whose lives, diets, and attitudes are much more familiar than the lives of, say, medieval European peasants. The Egyptians, by all accounts, loved life so much, and lived such pleasant lives, that their idea of the afterlife was merely a continuation of this one. From the smallest detail of a child's toy to the grand marvel of the Great Pyramid, their attention to every facet of daily life, their excellent faculty for observation, and their quick wits shine through in this story of their lives. This is a book every lover of Egypt should have on the shelf.

Also recommended: Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt

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Funny and Descriptive

I loved this book, and can't wait to buy her other books. It isn't lengthy and describes things wonderfully. Her word choice and tone portray ancient Egypt beautifully. I would definitely recommend this book to any Egypt and/or book lovers!

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Good basic book, but a bit distorted by the author's prejudices

Mrs. Mertz book is an excellent way to gather basic general knowledge of pharaonic Egypt. It has a nice little reading list by subject (she needs to add Aidan Dodson's "Monarchs of the Nile," that has excellent info on dynasties, and bibliography). The book has some nice pictures too. Now, it is certainly difficult to write a book without bias--and here I am, giving my biased opinion!--but not impossible, and it should be of utmost importance to an Egyptologist conveying the little that survived about that civilization. Her "feminist inclinations" are a constant presence in the book. Yet, I believe the small amount of documents that survive would be better comprehended if readers were allowed their own conclusions. She harshly--and too frequently--criticizes Victorian scholars for judging Egyptians based upon their values, yet, she can hardly claim no prejudice. On adultery, she concludes it was not a big deal--yet documents record adulterous women being burned alive, or killed and thrown to dogs. Then there is one V Dynasty tomb at Sakkara that belonged to 2 court officials; both had wives and children, but are "shown in their joint tomb in attitudes more commonly found between husband and wife." So, she concludes that was "Strong indication that [homosexual] relationships were accepted"! Silly me, I thought Egyptologists expected to find at least several examples to believe something common in a civilization--and one that lasted thousands of years! On the other hand, she describes a mummy of a "middle-aged woman found at Deir-el-Bahri [that] has the most extraordinary hairdo for an Egyptian woman." She says that the mummy's hairdo "is very `un-Egyptian' and I know of nothing like it in the pictorial representations." So, she believes that one example of (possible) homosexuality proves it was accepted among Egyptians, yet one hairdo example does not make it a rule for Egyptian women... It seems Mrs. Mertz may believe readers are ignorant and cannot make up their own minds if given only facts. (Consider this: not even the "experts" agree and many explanations/views exist to each surviving piece of evidence.) Her book is lavishly punctuated with silly remarks, such as "don't ask me, because I don't know!" At one point she wonders if Nefertiti ever had a bad hair day... She informs us that: "Some loaves [of bread] have survived to the present day; they are like rock, the stalest bread you can imagine." Who'd had expected hundreds-of-years-old bread to be stale or hard, right? Oh, and there is the case of the many centuries old rose bud found by an Egyptologist, who put it in water and it... opened--I kid you not! Later on she mocks Mika Waltari for inaccurately using a name--Nefer-Nefer-Nefer--in his famous novel "The Egyptian." Gosh, could she have forgotten Ka-Nefer-Nefer (the Twice Beautiful Ka) whose name has been given by an Egyptologist (Goneim)? Paraphrasing Mrs. Mertz, don't ask me, because I don't know! (Is that annoying or what?)

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The Best From the Best

When I'm planning some research or need to check a fact from another source, any book by Dr. Mertz is a good place to start. Her knowledge and ability to impart that knowledge is always welcome and a breath of fresh air in a subject that other authors tend to get detail heavy and enjoyment light.

Dr. Mertz handles the subject with thoroughness and aplomb, making this an enjoyable read for those that just want a little background on the history of this vast area of research. Her humor shines through on every page and will bring the past back to life as only she can.

Through this book and her other superb book, Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt you can get the true feeling for this ancient culture and realize that no matter the time in history, people are people and it makes the long dead seem much more alive.

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A fascinating, erudite, and witty glimpse of the human side of ancient Egypt?this acclaimed classic work is now revised and updated for a new generation

Displaying the unparalleled descriptive power, unerring eye for fascinating detail, keen insight, and trenchant wit that have made the novels she writes (as Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels) perennial New York Times bestsellers, internationally renowned Egyptologist Barbara Mertz brings a long-buried civilization to vivid life. In Red Land, Black Land, she transports us back thousands of years and immerses us in the sights, aromas, and sounds of day-to-day living in the legendary desert realm that was ancient Egypt.

Who were these people whose civilization has inspired myriad films, books, artwork, myths, and dreams, and who built astonishing monuments that still stagger the imagination five thousand years later? What did average Egyptians eat, drink, wear, gossip about, and aspire to? What were their amusements, their beliefs, their attitudes concerning religion, childrearing, nudity, premarital sex? Mertz ushers us into their homes, workplaces, temples, and palaces to give us an intimate view of the everyday worlds of the royal and commoner alike. We observe priests and painters, scribes and pyramid builders, slaves, housewives, and queens?and receive fascinating tips on how to perform tasks essential to ancient Egyptian living, from mummification to making papyrus.

An eye-opening and endlessly entertaining companion volume to Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs, Mertz's extraordinary history of ancient Egypt, Red Land, Black Land offers readers a brilliant display of rich description and fascinating edification. It brings us closer than ever before to the people of a great lost culture that was so different from?yet so surprisingly similar to?our own.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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