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

Written by Barbara Mertz

Narrated by Lorna Raver

In this updated version of the classic of popular Egyptology, Barbara Mertz combines a doctorate in Egyptology at the famed Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago with a life-long enthusiasm for ancient Egypt. Her love of the subject is contagious and makes her the perfect guide to ancient Egypt for the student, the layman, and those who plan to visit—or have visited—the Nile Valley.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Dec 15, 2007
• ISBN: 9781400175604

Barbara Mertz

Barbara Mertz is a New York Times bestselling author who writes the popular Amelia Peabody mystery series under the pen name Elizabeth Peters and romantic suspense novels as Barbara Michaels. She was born and brought up in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. Named Grand Master at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986 and Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar Awards in 1998, she lives in a historic farmhouse in western Maryland.

[Eva Matijevic · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A fun read but I wasn’t looking for fun. The author can’t decide what she wants to write about and is constantly giving her opinions about the dumbest of things. And while I have no doubt that she was a fascinating person to know and speak to, the same can’t be said for her non-fictional work.

[rivkat_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Charmingly written history of Egypt’s ancient rulers from what we can and can’t know from their artifacts. Not very much about ordinary life or details of how pyramids were built, but gossipy discussion of various rulers and of the nature of knowledge of/speculation about the distant past.

[setnahkt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Probably the most readable history of ancient Egypt available[/url] (especially when coupled with the parallel Red Land, Black Land). Barbara Mertz graduated from the University of Chicago with a PhD in Egyptology in the 1950s and promptly discovered the market for female Egyptologists was not exactly bullish (there is a rumor that, In sort of a sad tradition, she helped her husband get his degree and he turned around and dumped her. I have no idea if that’s true). She tried to make a living as a writer – probably for every 1000 people who try to make it as writers, 999 end up as waitstaff. She’s the 1000th, writing romance/mystery novels under the name Barbara Michaels, and mystery/romance novels under the name Elizabeth Peters. (The novels, by the way, are very erudite, historically accurate, and highly recommended).
Her writing talent is part of the reason this is a good book – the other part is it’s highly idiosyncratic; she admittedly and unabashedly writes about those parts of Egyptian history that interest her and skims over – but with references – those that don’t. Thus the Predynastic, the pyramids, Hatshepsut, and the Amarna period get a lot of coverage. I especially liked her explanation of how William Flinders Petrie did pottery sequence dating – every other Egyptian history mentions pottery sequence dating, but this is the only one that actually explains how it works.
Conventional histories usually gloss over uncertain topics – I suspect because the authors stick to their own opinions. Mertz is happy to point out that Egyptologists don’t agree on a lot of things – the exact classification of Predynastic cultures, who was Menes, Kurt Sethe’s theories about Hapshesut (and the question of who started chiseling Hatshepsut off monuments), how many Montuhoteps and Osorkons there were, and so on. Unfortunately, she had a very strong opinion on one of the controversies – who’s buried in KV55 – and, according to recent DNA evidence, she was wrong (to be fair, she was taking the view supported by almost all the evidence – that it was Smenkhkare – while the contrary position, that it was Ahkenaton, was only held by armwaving fringe Egyptologists). The armwaving fringe turned out to be right, and it’s doubling unfortunate because this is a revised edition of a book published 40 years ago and if she had waited just a little longer the DNA data would have been in.
It’s especially unfortunate because otherwise Mertz’s handling of the Amarna period is outstanding. You might expect a romance novelist to go a little overboard – Amarna, after all, is the only period in Egyptian history where there is any hint of royal romance. Perhaps because of that Mertz does a terrific job of summarizing the facts (at least as known at the time of her writing). Fun to read, informative, gives a real feel for “warts and all” Egyptology, and recommended.

[sandydog1_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A 5-star topic. I found the treatment, arcane, flowery and boring.

[pussreboots · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent read! This book was published roughly four years before she ventured into fiction writing but her sense of humor and skills as a writer show through in this non-fiction over-view of Egyptian history. It would be another ten years before she would publish her first Amelia Peabody mystery but this book shows a lot of sources of inspiration for the series.

[naura.milano · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If only public schools would teach Egyptian history from books like this! Chatty, assuming without being superior that you don't know much, it is such an easy, fun read. Regrettably, Barbara Mertz is no longer with us, but she's left a one-of-a-kind legacy we can all enjoy. Too bad there's not a 5+, this one deserves it.

[jdhomrighausen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Though I had heard of Elizabeth Peters the mystery writer, I never knew that Peters was only the pen name for a woman whose first vocation was as an academic Egyptologist. In fact, this was her first published book. Mertz's fascinating introduction to Egypt and the people who study it, first written in 1964 and revised 2007, was like reading Carl Sagan's Cosmos. Yes, it may be somewhat dated in terms of current finds, but the basic info is there, and presented so appealingly that I want to read more.

Mertz is a joy to listen to, whether she is describing ancient Egyptian science and architecture, the imposing Queen Hapshetsut, the religious fanaticism of Akenahten, the grandiose monuments of Ramses, the ubiquitous tomb pots, or the villainous and rage-inducing tomb robbers of centuries ago. But more humorously, she is not afraid to take cheap shots at her fellow Egyptologists, poking fun at the inanity of certain scholarly debates. I only wish she had discussed more Egyptian myth and religion in addition to history and archaeology. I also wish I had read the book instead of listened to the audio because I missed out on images and maps I hear are in the real thing!

Still, I really enjoyed this book, and now I want to read more.

[librisalexandria · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you don't know anything about ancient Egypt, this is the first book to read on the subject. It made me fall in love with Egyptology. Ms. Mertz guides the reader through this civilization's 3,000-year-long history with grace and humor. She makes it seem like an easy read, and yet, when you finish the book you realize how much you have learnt about ancient Egypt.