Reviews

The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution by Peter Hessler

danipooo's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring slow-paced

4.5

ababo's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I never had any special interest in nowadays Egypt and even the glorious past was too far to be interesting. After reading the Letter from Abydos by Peter Hessler at The New Yorker I bought the book and enjoyed the vibrant mix of what history is. The family life of the garbage map, the local politician at a remote town, the Chinese lingerie dealers with the first plastic recycling facility, the hard life of a gay in Cairo, all those local characters, and the big swings of history. This is an unusual book that I can highly recommend.

textpublishing's review against another edition

Go to review page

‘[An] absorbing account of the fallout from the Egyptian revolutions of 2011. It is an eclectic, beautifully written narrative that weaves a portrait of contemporary life in Egypt together with the complex strands of its pharaonic past, finding parallels between seemingly disparate ancient and modern worlds…The Buried is an ambitious book, and it delivers on all fronts. It’s equal parts travelogue, history and memoir from a writer with a gift for conveying the humanity of his subjects.’
Washington Post

sleekyrp's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

This will be my most wishy-washy review ever.

geneticginger's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I'm normally not a nonfiction person but I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the Egyptian Revolution. It was a book full of commentary on Egyptian culture, stories about the people but also interesting thoughts and insights into the politics.

lhowaa's review

Go to review page

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

4.5

saydenie's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

katiedavis's review

Go to review page

adventurous informative medium-paced

5.0

hannah_dillard's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This book was an interesting short-story history, intermingling the contemporary, everyday life and customs with the historical evidence of Egyptian Archaeology.

jenabest's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

 4.5 stars.
This book, while a little on the slower-paced side, was INCREDIBLY interesting. Seamlessly weaves together events from the Arab Spring, ancient Egyptian history, the history of Egyptian archaeology, and the day-to-day lives of modern Egyptian citizens. If you are interested in learning about any of these topics (including how religion and and bias influences regional politics), I highly recommend that you pick this up ASAP.