Imagining Egypt: A Living Portrait of the Time of the Pharaohs

From the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx to the dynasties of the pharaohs and the myths of Isis and Osiris, ancient Egypt has proved to be endlessly fascinating. Egypt has been credited with teaching other ancient cultures about writing, language, religion and politics. Artist Millmore brings ancient Egypt to life with colorful computer re-creations of ancient monuments as they might have looked in the past, along with photos, diagrams, maps and sidebars. He provides charts that decode hieroglyphics, overviews of Egyptian daily life, stories of such great pharaohs as Amenhotep III (1390–1352 B.C.) and Hatshepsut (1473–1458 B.C.), and descriptive summaries of the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. Millmore re-creates daily life; food, games (including possible rules for the board game Senet) and sports; and the Egyptian view of death. Glossaries and time lines contribute to the usefulness of the book. Although much of this information can be found in other books about Egypt, Millmore's thorough primer is chockablock with gorgeous illustrations, and the book offers as good a starting point as any for an introduction to life in ancient Egypt. 15,000 first printing. (Apr.)