mari1532's review against another edition

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informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.0

I listened to this audiobook with Audible.

Brief Summary: This book examines the biographies and legacies of six women who ruled Ancient Egypt: Merneith (consort and regent in the First Dynasty), Neferusobek (Pharoh of the Twelfth Dynasty), Hatshepsut (consort and Pharoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty), Nefertiti (consort of the Eighteenth Dynasty), Tawosret (Pharoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty) and Cleopatra VII (Pharoh of Ptolemy Dynasty).

Thoughts: I had listened to Cooney's Great Courses on women in Ancient Egypt and was excited to dive into this book. I enjoyed it immensely. My favourite was the section focused on Nefertiti, who of the six women discussed is probably the second most recognizable. However, I did not know a great deal about her story. Cooney does an excellent job of discussing the known biographical information of Nefertiti as well as the new research concerning what may have happened to her after the death of her spouse. It is always fascinating to learn about new research. 

I also enjoyed the discussion of Cleopatra. I think one of the things that is most difficult to remember when learning about Cleopatra in particular is that she was the loser of a conflict and as a result much of what we know about her is through the patriarchal and xenophobic Roman Generals who defeated her. As a result, Cooney's approach to discussing Cleopatra as a successful ruler was refreshing and a counterbalance to many of the sources from the period in which Cleopatra lived. 

I will say that the thing I liked least about this book was how it kept linking the lack of favour for female rule in Ancient periods to today. I think that it was fine to draw that line in the introduction, but it felt a little repetitive after a while. Also, it is difficult to make historical figures out to be proto-feminists, which it did feel like Cooney was trying to argue in certain areas throughout the book. That is not to say that some of the six women discussed did not do things for the women in their societies, but I think it would be a leap to say that their use of power improved the lives of all women within society. 

If you are interested in female rulers, Ancient Egypt, or history more generally this is an interesting read that will encourage you to seek out more information.   

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kloughlin's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

3.5


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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

I thought I was going to be really interested in this book, but the more I read, the more I wondered why. It was certainly informative and educational, and I’ve definitely learned a lot. However, there were too many blanks filled in by her perspective and expertise. I understand that often had to happen when interpreting history. The issue for me was that it was sometimes hard to distinguish between supposition and recreated facts.

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