i like this book as a succinct summary of the ancient egyptian cultural expressions of mummies and pyramids. although this book does not provide as much detail as the usborne  ancient egypt encyclopedia i read previously, the condensed book might be preferred for learners just being introduced to ancient egyptian history and culture. or also, there may be an appeal in this book between the two for the focus it places on the specific cultural components of mummies and pyramids, rather than a more comprehensive history involving details about foreign affairs and archaeological excavation as in the encyclopedia. that said, there is some information about archaeological discovery, which reminds me of a quote i read from the explorer who found the tomb of king tut, describing to his exploration team what he was seeing in the tomb as “wonderful things.”