A review by chakgilbert
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson

challenging informative medium-paced

4.75

Like many people, I have been fascinated with Ancient Egypt, but the education I received did not spend much time on it. Pop culture has significantly impacted my view, so I wanted to get an overview of the history. This book does that. This is a sweeping, birds-eye view of Ancient Egypt. While some chapters were more entertaining than others because of the sources available, this book did a good job presenting the history and pointing out parallels to modern history. The author did a great job of trying to distinguish the pharaohs because names repeat throughout history. It was easy to follow and interesting. After finishing the book, what stood out to me is that an empire's stability is truly short compared to how long an empire can last. One area I wish the book had touched more on is the everyday life of the average person in the empire. While the book hints that their life could be brutal, whether under pharaoh rule or occupation, it does not give much insight. We get more insight into the elite's life, which could be because that is what is available from the archaeological record. Overall, I recommend this book to those interested in a bird’s eye view of Ancient Egypt and an accessible introduction.