The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt Paperback – 19 Feb. 2004

Great book which was a gift for my mother who thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm currently studying for an undergraduate degree in Egyptology and this book is perfect for covering both the basics and the more complex points. The chapters provide both a brief overview and a more in depth analysis of evidence, which is perfect for beginners and for those who are more familiar with the content. It covers a massive span of history, from pre-dynastic Egypt to Egypt as a province in the Roman Empire and regardless of this span, chapters remain detailed and thorough, yet are easy to follow. This is a perfect go to book for Egyptology, especially while studying it at an undergraduate level.

This is an excellent resume of the whole of Ancient Egyptian history. Despite some of the negative reviews it is not boring, merely very thorough.The style is variable because Ian Shaw has brought together different 'experts' to tell the history and some writers have a easier narrative style than others. It is more than a reference book because it does read as a story, but only just!Its value lies in the comprehensive way it allows you to fit all the disparate bits of Egyptian history picked up from, school, casual reading the TV etc into a framework. Yes its is dry in places, but that's only because it is thorough.Buy this book if you want to get Egyptian history straightened out in your mind. Use it as a reference work to look up which part of the 5000 odd years of interlocking stories is being mentioned elsewhere.Don't buy this if you want a romance of ancient history.Kindle readers (like myself) will be annoyed at the poor resolution of the maps, even when read on PC. The maps are almost essential at some points and unless you have access to historical atlas you will/may struggle at times.It really is a shame that Amazon does not operate some form of quality control. It has the economic clout to tell e-publishers to get their act together!This last should not prevent you from buying the book, even for Kindle, because I have not found another text to come even close to the usefulness of this work.

I bought this book for my 16 year old daughter, who is mad about all things Egyptian (!). However, the book is really geared towards a higher education level. That said, I am sure she will be picking it up within a year or so when her A-levels are done.It's packed with lots of dates, intricate information and text.I would say is definitely aimed at Degree-level students.

This is a very good one volume History, no myths, of Ancient Egypt based on evidence. Perhaps a bit too detailed in parts for the casual reader, but for the enthusiast all the historical information you can ever want is here.

This is the whole story of Ancient Egypt in chronological order - in one volume. Very useful for clarifying the mind about the succession of Pharaohs and dynasties, and the main events in their times. It would be a good starting book for an (adult) Egypt-fancier -or for someone who has been reading about the subject for years and needs to get the subject straight in their minds at last.

I got less than 100 pages in before the author refered to the pyramids as tombs, even though to this day there is next to no evidence of this. The book seems excellent if you want a catalogue of mainstream archealogical information. I put the book down after only a short way in because I do not agree with some of mainstream Egyptology. I would like to be neutral as a result because there will be people out there that do agree with the mainstream, if you do then this seems more aimed at you -2.5/5.

The print in the paperback is very small, so then got the hardback instead; much better size print