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.