Egypt Gift of the Nile: An Aerial Portrait

This attractive volume pleasantly evokes the stimulating mix of pagan, Arab and Christian cultures that makes modern Egypt perhaps even more interesting than the ancient land of the pharaohs whose monuments enrich the landscape. Although written in standard travel-magazine prose, the text by Rodenbeck, an American writer resident in Egypt for 15 years, concisely traces the 5000-year history of a nation that created one of the earliest human civilizations; served as an important Greek and Roman colony; flourished for five centuries as the center of a medieval Muslim empire; and today claims one of the world's largest, most cosmopolitan metropolises, Cairo. Italian photographer Rossi's 178 full-color works capture the grandeur of Egypt's ancient monuments, the stark beauty of its desert, the lushness of the Nile, the jostling coexistence of old and new in its cities--although the gimmick of including only pictures taken from above doesn't really add anything to the book. No new insights or incredibly unusual images, but a handsome ornament for the coffee table. ( Sept. )