I really enjoyed this, but it's not at all what I thought it would be. I was expecting a short history of Ancient Egypt, which this is not. It's mostly about Egyptology. It goes over how well known ideas of ancient Egypt got their start (sometimes through interpreting scenes from a single artifact!), and how further excavations showed those theories to be too simplistic or flat out wrong. I would have given the book five stars, except I don't think it makes a very good introduction at all. In fact, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't already have a cursory knowledge of ancient Egypt and archaeology. Without that, the details about digs, artifacts, and excavation methods, etc. could make for tedious reading. However, having taken classes on both subjects recently, I found it to be entertaining and full of fascinating details. It was even laugh out loud funny in places.

Very disappointing

The author certainly knows his stuff and is a great expert in his field. However the book is wordy and turgid and conveyed little sense of what ancient Egypt was like in any real way. Instead, much long-winded space was given to dense speculative discussion of ancient artefacts. I came away feeling I couldn't see the wood for the trees.

Very detailed and highly abbreviated history of ancient Egypt. I'd recommend other books if you were looking to fully understand governmental and societal procedures from that time, but it's a good introduction if you're looking into other cultural aspects, such as hieroglyphics.

As other reviewers mention (at length) this is not an introduction to Ancient Egypt, as the title suggests, but an introduction to Egyptology. When I realized that, I almost returned the book to the library. But I decided it was short enough to just press ahead, and I'm glad I did. The author's sincerity and devotion to his field shows on every page, and there's enough dry humor sprinkled throughout to keep otherwise niche topics from becoming boring.

I suspect [b:The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt|8536070|The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt|Toby Wilkinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1330838691l/8536070._SY75_.jpg|13403441] will fulfill my desire for an introduction to Ancient Egypt.