Whose Pharaohs?: Archæology, Museums, and Egyptian National Identity from Napoleon to World War I
In his Rape of the Nile, Brian Fagan presented a popular survey showing how Europeans and later Americans descended upon Egypt as soldiers, tourists, and scholars to loot the country's ancient heritage with no concern for the aspirations of the Egyptians themselves. Fred Bratton's A History of Egyptian Archaeology traced the development of modern Egyptology with no reference to Egyptian scholars. Reid (history, Georgia State Univ.), the author of several books on the Middle East, here offers a scholarly assessment of the reaction of the Egyptian intelligentsia to the plundering and control of the nation's antiquities and the role these activities played in the growth of Egyptian nationalism. As Reid shows, the Europeans established museums for Pharaonic artifacts but paid little or no attention to the Coptic and Islamic architectural and artistic legacy. The Egyptians took it upon themselves to found museums and institutions to preserve and study these treasures. Reid documents the tensions between the Egyptians and the Europeans who administered Egyptian institutions in a lively narrative with full references and an extensive bibliography. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries. Edward K. Werner, St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Syst., Ft. Pierce, FLCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.