A History of Egypt: From Earliest Times to the Present
Intended to offer travelers especially a basic background in Egyptian history, Thompson’s survey fluidly relates thousands of years of time. Acquainting readers with the conventional divisions of pharaonic Egypt into the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, Thompson highlights important events, or perhaps more saliently to visitors, the monuments built by the sequence of dynasties. From Egypt’s conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, Thompson emphasizes that foreigners ruled the country continuously until 1952, legating layers of history with enduring visibility in Egyptian society, such as Christianity, Islam, and modernity. A strong aspect of the narrative, Thompson’s explanations of transitions in the governance of Egypt combine the political details with consideration of the tactics that would win people’s acceptance of a change in regime. Throughout the work, Egypt’s unusual geography—its dependence on the Nile River, its isolation by deserts—never strays far from the author’s narrative, just as today most Egyptians live, as they always have, within miles of the Nile’s banks. Integrating such elements with clarity and perspective, Thompson provides an excellent introduction to Egyptian history. --Gilbert Taylor