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A review by berenikeasteria
The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt by Ian Shaw
5.0
This was the go-to book throughout my undergraduate degree in Egyptology, one that I consulted more times than I can recall for preparatory class reading, source for essays, prompt for presentations, etc. And yet my knowledge of it was patchy because I consulted as needed – with so many different demands on my time, I never got to sit down with it and read the whole thing cover to cover; something which I looked to rectify this year. Having done so, I can heartily recommend it.
Let’s go through the negatives first. Yes, the print is rather small. Fortunately I was reading on kindle, but even the ability to increase the size of text does nothing to clarify the tiny maps. It wasn’t too bad a fault for me, partly because I knew most of the sites referred to, partly because it was easy enough to consult a map online. But I can understand how this would deter people. Throughout the text, I only spotted two major inaccuracies. There may be more that I simply didn’t pick up on, or because new discoveries can change the picture all the time; the edition I read is the most recent available one, from 2004. The errors were that the book stated that the last monarch of the 6th Dynasty was Queen Nitiqret – this is a much later misunderstanding by classical authors writing about ancient Egypt some two thousand years removed, and we now know that the monarch’s name was actually Netjerkare Siptah I and a king, not a queen. The second error was that David Peacock in the final chapter states that the Red Sea trade port of Berenike, established by Ptolemy II, was named after his sister – it wasn’t, for he had no such sister; it was named after his mother of that name.
Another criticism which pops up in reviews is the dryness of the text, but I consider that a neutral aspect of the book, heavily dependent on the experience and interest of the reader. If you have come to this book with no prior knowledge of ancient Egypt whatsoever, and no experience of academic non-fictions, you may find the book a challenge. It is quite long and, if not comprehensive, certainly thorough in taking its readers from the dawn of Egyptian history right up to its incorporation into the Roman empire, chock full of in depth analysis about state administration, religious nuance, and political shifts in agenda and execution. If you’re a newcomer, I would direct you away from this book, and to Ian Shaw’s Ancient Egypt: A Very Brief Introduction instead – shorter, much more accessible, and written specifically for the general audience.
However, I have to admit that I didn’t think the book was that dry. It was dense in material, to be sure, but it was written in a smooth, fluid style throughout that I personally found to be far more engaging and understandable than some of the other general histories of ancient Egypt I’ve been reading lately. Despite the fact that this book, like those others, is written in the format of each chapter submitted by a different author, and then edited by Ian Shaw, there’s a consistency of style here that makes me think that Shaw curated each chapter with care for tone and accessibility. This book succeeded far more than others at holding my interest and getting across its important points. In comparison to other similar books, I also felt this book got less bogged down in numbers and statistics. It didn’t hurt either that this book was more accurate and made less factual errors than either Toby Wilkinson’s The Egyptian World or Marc van de Mieroop’s A History of Ancient Egypt.
Until or unless I find a better academic overview of ancient Egypt than this one, I have to say this is my recommended go-to book.
10 out of 10
Let’s go through the negatives first. Yes, the print is rather small. Fortunately I was reading on kindle, but even the ability to increase the size of text does nothing to clarify the tiny maps. It wasn’t too bad a fault for me, partly because I knew most of the sites referred to, partly because it was easy enough to consult a map online. But I can understand how this would deter people. Throughout the text, I only spotted two major inaccuracies. There may be more that I simply didn’t pick up on, or because new discoveries can change the picture all the time; the edition I read is the most recent available one, from 2004. The errors were that the book stated that the last monarch of the 6th Dynasty was Queen Nitiqret – this is a much later misunderstanding by classical authors writing about ancient Egypt some two thousand years removed, and we now know that the monarch’s name was actually Netjerkare Siptah I and a king, not a queen. The second error was that David Peacock in the final chapter states that the Red Sea trade port of Berenike, established by Ptolemy II, was named after his sister – it wasn’t, for he had no such sister; it was named after his mother of that name.
Another criticism which pops up in reviews is the dryness of the text, but I consider that a neutral aspect of the book, heavily dependent on the experience and interest of the reader. If you have come to this book with no prior knowledge of ancient Egypt whatsoever, and no experience of academic non-fictions, you may find the book a challenge. It is quite long and, if not comprehensive, certainly thorough in taking its readers from the dawn of Egyptian history right up to its incorporation into the Roman empire, chock full of in depth analysis about state administration, religious nuance, and political shifts in agenda and execution. If you’re a newcomer, I would direct you away from this book, and to Ian Shaw’s Ancient Egypt: A Very Brief Introduction instead – shorter, much more accessible, and written specifically for the general audience.
However, I have to admit that I didn’t think the book was that dry. It was dense in material, to be sure, but it was written in a smooth, fluid style throughout that I personally found to be far more engaging and understandable than some of the other general histories of ancient Egypt I’ve been reading lately. Despite the fact that this book, like those others, is written in the format of each chapter submitted by a different author, and then edited by Ian Shaw, there’s a consistency of style here that makes me think that Shaw curated each chapter with care for tone and accessibility. This book succeeded far more than others at holding my interest and getting across its important points. In comparison to other similar books, I also felt this book got less bogged down in numbers and statistics. It didn’t hurt either that this book was more accurate and made less factual errors than either Toby Wilkinson’s The Egyptian World or Marc van de Mieroop’s A History of Ancient Egypt.
Until or unless I find a better academic overview of ancient Egypt than this one, I have to say this is my recommended go-to book.
10 out of 10