To its neighbors, Egypt was a land of "gold as plentiful as dust" - a kingdom to be admired and envied, but too powerful to be taken. Other kingdoms rose and fell; Egypt endured. Over the course of the last 400 years, our picture of the land of the pharoahs has been built up piece by piece, leaving plenty of gaps for the imagination. Paradoxically, in the twentieth century - when most of Egypt's past has finally been well documented - the more familiar and everyday it becomes, the more there is a desire to cling to the exotic, the mysterious, the impenetrable. This comprehensive and lavishly illustrated book unwraps the layered shroud of history to reveal both Egypts: The real land of kings and queens, craftsmen, archeologists and tomb-robbers; and the Egypt of imagination, which has taken a hold on Western culture since its origins in classical Greece. 224 pages, including 14 fully illustrated, in-depth special features; more than 360 illustrations: 20 artwork, 20 maps, 320 photographs; timecharts, glossary, bibliography and a complete index. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall.

EGYPT CIVILIZATION HISTORY ANCIENT KINGDOMS PYRAMIDS TOMBS