(4.5 Rounded Up)

I received a complimentary ARC copy of Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History by Nigel Fletcher-Jones from Net Galley and Amber Books to read and give an honest review.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words“ and in this case Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History speaks volumes.

I have been intrigued by Ancient Egypt since visiting the King Tutankhamun exhibit at the age of nine, and over forty years later, I started taking courses in Archaeology, with a particular focus in Egyptology. I was thrilled to be afforded the opportunity to read and review Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History by Nigel Fletcher-Jones.

They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words“ and in this case Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History speaks volumes. This stunning collection of photographs of Ancient Egyptian relics and places, covering Pre-history and the early dynastic period thru to the Greco-Roman Period, show Ancient Egypt in all its beauty. Accompanying each photograph are summaries, albeit brief, each offer a great introduction and insight into each photograph and its significance in history.

This would be a perfect introduction for anyone who is fascinated by Ancient Egypt and its amazing wonders. A truly inspiring photographic journey through Egyptian history that I would highly recommend.

Ancient Egypt, a photographic history, is exactly that. I loved all the pictures! Each chapter is broken into time periods in Egypt’s history, from the earliest records to more modern day. Each picture has a description and historical blurb to accompany it. I was wondering if it would be like a textbook, but it is so much richer and more visual than that. I was immersed in the history and culture with beautiful imagery and recommend others who love Egyptian history to give it a look.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

Brief overview of ancient Egyptian civilization, with the emphasis of course on the visual aspect, through lots of photos. Not only the large monuments, but also small sculptures, for example, are shown. The texts are certainly up-to-date, but the emphasis is mainly on the successive pharaohs and dynasties. This is sufficient as a first introduction.

This is a wonderful coffee table book, the photography is just brilliant. But, it has more than that - we can read accompanying text about the photos, characters and period of ancient Egypt.

A truly spectacular piece of work.

This informative volume with gorgeous photographs covers from the very beginning of the Egyptian civilization and all the way to early Christianity, including the Greco-Roman period. It follows Egyptian art, culture, civilization and history, illustrating the most salient points with high-quality pictures. I found the text itself a little dry, with too many dates and names to easily follow, but the photographs make up for it by actually showing what remains of those times. The art features classics like the great pyramids, the sphinx and Tut’s mask, but also sculptures of architects, scribes and other people who made Egypt what it was. It is easy to follow the evolution of the civilization through the ages, from the primitive stone circles of prehistory to the strong influence of Greco-Roman culture (I was blown away by a statue of Psamtek II, which is like nothing I remember seeing in Egyptian art). There is one big downside to this book: it will give you a serious case of wanderlust.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Amber Books.

Ancient Egyptian culture is absolutely fascinating. The artwork, carvings and hieroglyphs are beautiful. They wore the heaviest jewelry!.. The only thing I would say is I wish some of the photographs were bigger, as a lot of the exquisite detail gets a bit lost.

5 stars for the photographs
3 stars for the text

The majority of people are probably going to pick up this book for the photographs within it, not for the text but it isn’t strictly just photos so the text also needs to be reviewed. The photographs within were beautiful and really were what drew me to picking up this book, and are probably what will draw most people to this book. This would be a beautiful book to just flip through and admire the beauty of ancient Egypt, but the text included with the photos was not so great.

The text itself was sometimes dense, sometimes confusing, and sometimes sparse. Because this is such a brief overview of ancient Egypt from beginning to end it does need to be a very quick version, but some sections felt very dense and confusing. This was partially because at times there were whole paragraphs where it was just rapid succession of rulers' names, most of which were the same name just a change in roman numerals. A timeline would have got the same information across without being so dense.

Overall, if you are looking for a photography book on ancient Egypt I would recommend this book, but if you are picking this up for the text, be aware that it is very condensed and might be a bit confusing at times.

I've always been captivated by ancient Egypt, and it was among the top destinations on my travel list when I began exploring. This book, accompanied by stunning photographs, allowed me to revisit my journey and learn plenty of new information about this fascinating place and time in history . I definitely want a copy of this one my bookshelf

A beautiful book featuring photographs of lesser known artifacts abd places as well as the classic pictures. The text is alright abd a good general history overview of Egypt.

Ancient Egypt by Nigel Fletcher-Jones is an amazing book about egyptian history. The narrative starts explaining the names and dates used, and goes from the predynastic period to the non-egyptian rulers. All the explanations are really easy to understand, sometimes even a little to dry for me. It's really sad to know how many monuments have been destroyed along the years, with the constants changes in power and, later, the abandonment of the ancient egyptian religion. The best part is all the photos, they are super high quality and go beyond just the statues, with photos from bracelets, necklaces and much more. This book is awesome for people that have a fascination with ancient Egypt and for people that know nothing about it. I definitely recommend it.

Really great comprehensive history of Ancient Egypt.
The descriptions make it much easier to understand than a lot of other books like it.
The photography used throughout is stunning and allows the reader a much deeper insight.

Beautiful book from beginning to the end , with all of the colorful pictures you can see though out it , plus it's easy to read , and get to see Ancient Egypt come to life before your very eyes , it's the perfect gift for any one who loves to read and learn about Ancient Egypt.

This is probably the best general interest book I've ever read about Egypt. Divided by time period, readers can follow the progression of Egyptian civilization while looking at some of the best pictures I've ever seen. Relevant pictures go along with the text, artwork and photos of the monuments that still stand.
This was organized so cleanly -- it was easy to follow the power shifts and geographical reasons that caused changes in where power was based. One thing I've never thought about -- I enjoy Egyptian culture so much and I was appalled at descriptions of how so much was deliberately destroyed to renovate structures into Christian churches. I highly recommend this for people interested in this area or just as an interesting gift. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Quick Summary: A photographic history and timeline of Ancient Egypt

My Review: Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History by Nigel Fletcher-Jones is a visual tapestry of an ancient people. This book showcases a rich Egyptian culture, all through the lens of a camera. It highlights Egypt's temporal existence and the leaders, people, and beliefs/practices through antiquity.

About the Book: "Arranged chronologically, Ancient Egypt offers a compact photographic guide, from the 4000 BC Naqada culture to the end of the Ptolemy dynasty with the suicide of Cleopatra in 30 BC. In between, discover the Narmer Palette, a 31st century BC stone tablet that records the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by King Narmer; learn about Amenhotep the Magnificent, during whose reign Egypt reached the peak of its artistic and international power; marvel at the massive, rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel, dedicated to Pharaoh Ramesses II (“the Great”), marking the southern extent of the Egyptian empire and celebrating his victory over the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh; and discover how Egypt was ruled by Archaemenid Persia for almost 200 years, until the arrival of Alexander the Great and his all-conquering Macedonian army. Colourful, engaging and illustrated throughout with more than 180 photographs, Ancient Egypt is a vivid pictorial introduction to 4,000 years of Ancient Egyptian civilization."

My Final Say: This book spanned a vast period of time. It contained several familiar photos, but there were also some images that were new to me. It provided informative content on historical figures and places. I appreciated that the presented material motivated me to dig further and to research history's timeline and the proper placement of ruling individuals. As an amateur Egyptologist, I found it to be engaging.

Other: This would be a good addition to any layman's library. I would encourage potential readers to use this as a supplementary resource, with the understanding that more research may be required.

Rating: 4.5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: 👍

Sincere appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (Amber Books Ltd | Amber Books), and to NetGalley. Thank you for granting access to a digital ARC of this work in exchange for an honest review. The words that I have voluntarily shared are my own. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to become acquainted with this material.

Ancient Egypt, A Photographic History by Nigel Fletcher-Jones is the perfect addition to the collection of anyone with an interest in Ancient Egypt, from casual enthusiasts or budding Egyptologists, through to seasoned Historians. The images are truly stunning works of photography that capture the essence and majesty of the 3000+ years of Egypts History.

The book begins by establishing the geographic context of Egypt, imperative in gaining any insight and understanding as to how and why this Ancient Civilisation was able to thrive for such an impressive length of time. Set against the Nile and interspersed with ancient cities and buildings, these images have communicated the timeless importance of the Nile River and demonstrated the natural beauty of the country.

The chapters of this book successfully communicate the sheer length of Egypts history and communicate just how ancient it is, beginning with Pre-History, right through to the Greco-Roman Period. While the focus of this book is the images, which are high quality and detailed, the text is quite helpful, giving a concise and to the point summary of the period that can be accessed regardless of the readers background in History. Additionally, the caption for each image is concise, providing the appropriate information and would be a good start g point for anyone keen to engage in additional research.

I can’t praise the photographs in this book highly enough! Images such as that of the Grand Gallery in the Great Pyramid, were able to communicate information about the size and layout in a new manner, that really captivated me. My favourite period of Ancient Egypt has always been the New Kingdom, this chapter was fantastic, with stunning, detailed images of statues (Amenhotep III and Sobek has always been a favourite of mine) Tomb Walls, Temples and sarcophagi. I do wish there was as much focus on the early 18th Dynasty as there was on the later half (with the Amarna period and the like) and early 19th Dynasty, but I understand that the book would be astronomically long if each period was examined in excruciating detail. As I read on, I was exposed to sites and objects from periods I was less familiar with (I stared at the images from the Kiosk of Nakhtnebef for so long!) and I felt like I learned something new with each chapter.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Amber Books Ltd for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. It provided me great engagement and entertainment and will make a great addition to any history fans bookshelf or coffee table.