liacooper's review against another edition
4.0
A fairly unsanitized unromantic sketch of the French invasion of Egypt in 1798. Imperialism, and frankly wars/invasion in general, are gross barbaric ugly affairs. Contrasted the military march against the backdrop of almost manic scientific fervor, and the clashes between civilian and military.
Very readable and because it takes a fairly wide sweeping overview of many of the principle scientists involved in the invasion, I think it might be a good place to start if you plan to do deeper reading on the period.
Some passages could be prone to repetition, but otherwise it had a very engaging and easy to follow tone and voice. Overall, not what I was expecting (honestly I picked it up think it would be about more particulars of archaeology) but I learned some stuff that I've only ever read about in passing before or had not encountered in world history classes before so I'm quite glad I picked it up.
Very readable and because it takes a fairly wide sweeping overview of many of the principle scientists involved in the invasion, I think it might be a good place to start if you plan to do deeper reading on the period.
Some passages could be prone to repetition, but otherwise it had a very engaging and easy to follow tone and voice. Overall, not what I was expecting (honestly I picked it up think it would be about more particulars of archaeology) but I learned some stuff that I've only ever read about in passing before or had not encountered in world history classes before so I'm quite glad I picked it up.
quoth_a_raven's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting but poorly organized account of Napoleon's ill conceived invasion of Egypt. While the subject matter was interesting and the prose engaging, the author frequently repeated herself, and many tidbits of information were repeated almost verbatim in several chapters. There was an attempt, I think, to find a satisfying middle ground between a chronological account of the invasion and a biographical account for each of the scientists involved. Regardless of organization, I learned a lot about the time, and the author's excellent use of primary source material painted a vivid picture of Egypt at the turn of the nineteenth century.
lastwednesday's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
bookwormmichelle's review
4.0
I'd heard of course of the cadre of scientists Napoleon took to Egypt in his failed bid to take over that country, but I knew little about them. Fascinating group of men, and laid the groundwork for what we today call the science of archaeology.
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