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wynter's review against another edition
4.0
I love Barbara Mertz and her genuine passion for Egypt. I had no doubt that I would thoroughly enjoy yet another book by her. As opposed to [b:Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt|1400512|Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs A Popular History of Ancient Egypt|Barbara Mertz|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347781699s/1400512.jpg|1390701], which focused on the chronological history of Egypt and its rulers, Red Land, Black Land is more of a sweeping overview of Egyptian culture. She touches upon such interesting topics as medicine, food, household, women's rights, and of course pyramid building among others. There are some interesting connections between this volume and the first book in the Amelia Peabody series [b:Crocodile on the Sandbank|188230|Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody #1)|Elizabeth Peters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1306096774s/188230.jpg|2570338], which made me smile. For anyone interested in getting into Egyptology, I would certainly recommend reading first Temples... and then Red Land... as a good, solid intro on the subject.
eserafina42's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe it was because I was listening to this, but I had a lot of trouble staying with it, and I love Ms. Mertz's novels. I also enjoyed her other book on ancient Egypt, Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
A good introductory primer. Not the most archaeologically sound, no, but certainly entertaining.
jlynnelseauthor's review against another edition
5.0
"Its an ironic fact that when magic works, it is no longer magic but science."
What I love about this book is its excellent prose thanks to an experienced and talented fiction writer. The narrative is engaging and so unlike any other history book -- its not dry!!! While the author clearly presents her own point of view, this does not limit her presentation of the material, and she eloquently presents numerous schools of thought. She also includes fun side stories pertaining to Egypt's archeological pursuits.
The author gets into the mindset of the time period and really brings out the society's intelligence and innovations. They are not treated as "primitive" peoples and are not limited to definitions created by modern peoples as many books do to the Ancient Egyptians. Her explanations are intuitive and make you think. The only section I found confusing was the one about mathematics -- go figure.
Of course, the landscape of knowledge is constantly changing thanks to new techologies and discoveries. This book is extremely up to date and only suffers from recent DNA typing of King Tut's family. The author is not a big fan of DNA research, but it was still quite new at the book's publication.
This is an excellent resource that never takes itself too seriously. Its a book not about the things/artifacts but about the people, their context and perspective, and about life -- a celebration of life! Mertz has a fantastic wit which really personalizes the material. It says, "heck, its okay to find this tradition a little weird, you're not alone!" Mertz has created a detailed and beautifully descriptive resource. I think this book could peak the interest of anyone out there into Egyptology! I feel as if I have a better appreciation and understanding for the people of ancient times -- a more sympathetic view of their way of thinking. Thank you, Ms. Mertz!
"...perhaps we will not find the painted mummy cases and weird amulets so bizarre if we see, beneath the extravagance, a common human terror and a common hope."
What I love about this book is its excellent prose thanks to an experienced and talented fiction writer. The narrative is engaging and so unlike any other history book -- its not dry!!! While the author clearly presents her own point of view, this does not limit her presentation of the material, and she eloquently presents numerous schools of thought. She also includes fun side stories pertaining to Egypt's archeological pursuits.
The author gets into the mindset of the time period and really brings out the society's intelligence and innovations. They are not treated as "primitive" peoples and are not limited to definitions created by modern peoples as many books do to the Ancient Egyptians. Her explanations are intuitive and make you think. The only section I found confusing was the one about mathematics -- go figure.
Of course, the landscape of knowledge is constantly changing thanks to new techologies and discoveries. This book is extremely up to date and only suffers from recent DNA typing of King Tut's family. The author is not a big fan of DNA research, but it was still quite new at the book's publication.
This is an excellent resource that never takes itself too seriously. Its a book not about the things/artifacts but about the people, their context and perspective, and about life -- a celebration of life! Mertz has a fantastic wit which really personalizes the material. It says, "heck, its okay to find this tradition a little weird, you're not alone!" Mertz has created a detailed and beautifully descriptive resource. I think this book could peak the interest of anyone out there into Egyptology! I feel as if I have a better appreciation and understanding for the people of ancient times -- a more sympathetic view of their way of thinking. Thank you, Ms. Mertz!
"...perhaps we will not find the painted mummy cases and weird amulets so bizarre if we see, beneath the extravagance, a common human terror and a common hope."
baybay11098's review against another edition
3.75
I've always been fascinated by ancient Egypt. As a kid, I fell for many of the myths and legends, thinking that mummies were something to be frightened of and could be hiding in my closet when I go to sleep. When I grew up, I started rectifying my mistakes and learning about what these people were actually like.
Unfortunately, when you go to learn about them, almost every popular source talks about the pharaohs, the pyramids, and the battles against other peoples. Nobody talks about what the fuck these people actually did all the time. I wondered about that. Did they dance? Did they drink? (Apparently everyone else except me knew they drank beer) Were they generally happy? What kind of games did they play?
So last year I was looking for a good book to teach me these things. I don't care about which Pharaoh it was who built this pyramid. I don't care about which Pharaoh usurped the throne. This novel came across my eyes in my search and after telling a bunch of people about it, I received it as a gift. Last Christmas, of course.
I finally read it and enjoyed it so much. It was exactly what I wanted. Mertz gives a detailed but general view of these people's daily life, sometimes with an addition of her personal opinion on theories and jokes about funny stories.
Basically every general topic is discussed in here. Birth, toys, clothing, apprenticeship, math, puberty, sex, marriage, work, laws, holidays, food and drink, medicine, religion and science and magic, death, funerals, and the list goes on.
But what is really amazing about this book is how it puts you into the mind of an Egyptian. She makes you break away from your modern conceptions of things like magic and gods so that you remove your biases. Magic, science, and religion were intertwined for these people, and she makes sure that you understand that so you can look at stuff like their medicine and funeral traditions with empathy and understanding, instead of seeing them as "primitive" or inferior.
Mertz also points out when evidence is lacking or when she disagrees with other Egyptologists, which allows you to come to your own conclusions and gives you ideas on what to read next. It's startling how much my perception of this group of people changed. It was crazy to me to read, for example, that the period we think of as "ancient Egypt" is so long that even for some of the Egyptians the pyramids were 3,000 years old. And they would visit them and steal from them just like European archaeologists of the last 200 years.
My favorite excerpts were the translations of primary documents, such as a father's angry letters to his family back home, a romantic poem, and a cry from a husband to his dead wife, who he says is responsible for his bad luck lately.
I came away from this novel feeling like I lived a second life. It was full of interesting information, where at times every other sentence had my eyebrows raised in that "damn thats interesting" way. In a world full of history books touching on war, kings, and imperialism, it was nice to finally read one about normal people. People who, even though they lived thousands of years ago, also loved to dance, eat, drink, and grieved for their departed loved ones just as I do. And I not only learned about their life, but learned how to truly change my mindset and world view and put myself in somebody else's shoes.
Unfortunately, when you go to learn about them, almost every popular source talks about the pharaohs, the pyramids, and the battles against other peoples. Nobody talks about what the fuck these people actually did all the time. I wondered about that. Did they dance? Did they drink? (Apparently everyone else except me knew they drank beer) Were they generally happy? What kind of games did they play?
So last year I was looking for a good book to teach me these things. I don't care about which Pharaoh it was who built this pyramid. I don't care about which Pharaoh usurped the throne. This novel came across my eyes in my search and after telling a bunch of people about it, I received it as a gift. Last Christmas, of course.
I finally read it and enjoyed it so much. It was exactly what I wanted. Mertz gives a detailed but general view of these people's daily life, sometimes with an addition of her personal opinion on theories and jokes about funny stories.
Basically every general topic is discussed in here. Birth, toys, clothing, apprenticeship, math, puberty, sex, marriage, work, laws, holidays, food and drink, medicine, religion and science and magic, death, funerals, and the list goes on.
But what is really amazing about this book is how it puts you into the mind of an Egyptian. She makes you break away from your modern conceptions of things like magic and gods so that you remove your biases. Magic, science, and religion were intertwined for these people, and she makes sure that you understand that so you can look at stuff like their medicine and funeral traditions with empathy and understanding, instead of seeing them as "primitive" or inferior.
Mertz also points out when evidence is lacking or when she disagrees with other Egyptologists, which allows you to come to your own conclusions and gives you ideas on what to read next. It's startling how much my perception of this group of people changed. It was crazy to me to read, for example, that the period we think of as "ancient Egypt" is so long that even for some of the Egyptians the pyramids were 3,000 years old. And they would visit them and steal from them just like European archaeologists of the last 200 years.
My favorite excerpts were the translations of primary documents, such as a father's angry letters to his family back home, a romantic poem, and a cry from a husband to his dead wife, who he says is responsible for his bad luck lately.
I came away from this novel feeling like I lived a second life. It was full of interesting information, where at times every other sentence had my eyebrows raised in that "damn thats interesting" way. In a world full of history books touching on war, kings, and imperialism, it was nice to finally read one about normal people. People who, even though they lived thousands of years ago, also loved to dance, eat, drink, and grieved for their departed loved ones just as I do. And I not only learned about their life, but learned how to truly change my mindset and world view and put myself in somebody else's shoes.
skyfox24kd's review against another edition
KMT, or Kemet— Egypt … “land of the black” soil. The annual flooding of the Nile with rich farming soil and the red sands of the deserts. Quite a nice title.
I have read many books on Kemet, and I love a good fiction tale as much as learning something new.
I grew up around the developing field of Egyptology and hieroglyphs so it is comfortable. Of course I continued studying it in college!
Replicas glared at me from our decor back when most ppl only knew of Tut, Nefertiti, Cleopatra, Rameses II and the like. I saw many exhibits during our family trips. The thing is:
I know I have read this, but I remember something about it bugging me. I can’t remember what it was, though. I love Amelia Peabody. Hmm. Maybe it was the older published version?
So… no rating for now.
I have read many books on Kemet, and I love a good fiction tale as much as learning something new.
I grew up around the developing field of Egyptology and hieroglyphs so it is comfortable. Of course I continued studying it in college!
Replicas glared at me from our decor back when most ppl only knew of Tut, Nefertiti, Cleopatra, Rameses II and the like. I saw many exhibits during our family trips. The thing is:
I know I have read this, but I remember something about it bugging me. I can’t remember what it was, though. I love Amelia Peabody. Hmm. Maybe it was the older published version?
So… no rating for now.
alanafiuza's review against another edition
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
devafagan's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this in large part because I was already a fan of Barbara Mertz's Egyptian mystery series, written under her pen name as Elizabeth Peters. Listening to this audiobook, it was very much as if Amelia Peabody herself was giving me a series of lectures on ancient Egyptian life, with a great deal of love for the topic and the ancient Egyptians themselves. I appreciated that Mertz continually reminded the reader that these were real, living people, not so different from us. And I loved her dryly sarcastic commentary on academia, the various follies of modern humanity. As in her novels, there is a pervasive sense that humanity is deeply fallible, but also worthy of being loved and respected, even as we laugh at ourselves.
Some sections were a little dry, but I loved her voice so much that I didn't really mind!
Some sections were a little dry, but I loved her voice so much that I didn't really mind!