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A review by semeyers
When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt by Kara Cooney
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
This book was frustrating to me because while I liked it, but it could easily have been amazing.
I have always been interested in Ancient Egypt, so finding a book that focused on it's powerful women was right up my alley. I was invested from the start and did learn a lot about ancient Egyptian culture, rule, the role of women in the society, and how they were able to rise to power to begin with. I did not know that most women rulers of Egypt were actually considered true Kings, that sacrifice was so rife in early Egyptian burials, nor had I ever heard of Neferusobek or Meritneith. This book did inspire me to check out more books on ancient Egypt, including the author's other book, The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt.
However, the author's interjections did wear me down. I went in knowing there would be relating of ancient Egypt to modern politics, but it could have been done much more smoothly. Instead of working it within the beginning or end of a chapter or, better yet, dedicating a final chapter entirely too it, the author ends up throwing in comparisons here and there in each chapter. The effect is jarring, threw me off every time it happened, and by Chapter 4 or 5 I was getting annoyed. In addition, the author references many very specific political instances relating to the 2016 election which have quickly dated the book. Even listening in 2021, the book seemed "old" to me as many of the - again, very specific - instances she referenced have quickly faded from the zeitgeist.
Overall, I do recommend this book! Just know what you are going into!
I have always been interested in Ancient Egypt, so finding a book that focused on it's powerful women was right up my alley. I was invested from the start and did learn a lot about ancient Egyptian culture, rule, the role of women in the society, and how they were able to rise to power to begin with. I did not know that most women rulers of Egypt were actually considered true Kings, that sacrifice was so rife in early Egyptian burials, nor had I ever heard of Neferusobek or Meritneith. This book did inspire me to check out more books on ancient Egypt, including the author's other book, The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt.
However, the author's interjections did wear me down. I went in knowing there would be relating of ancient Egypt to modern politics, but it could have been done much more smoothly. Instead of working it within the beginning or end of a chapter or, better yet, dedicating a final chapter entirely too it, the author ends up throwing in comparisons here and there in each chapter. The effect is jarring, threw me off every time it happened, and by Chapter 4 or 5 I was getting annoyed. In addition, the author references many very specific political instances relating to the 2016 election which have quickly dated the book. Even listening in 2021, the book seemed "old" to me as many of the - again, very specific - instances she referenced have quickly faded from the zeitgeist.
Overall, I do recommend this book! Just know what you are going into!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Death, and Adult/minor relationship