Lives of the Ancient Egyptians

Sifting through 3000 years of Egyptian history, Wilkinson (Genesis of the Pharaohs) presents detailed portraits of 100 ancient Egyptians, mostly men who comprised the civilization's small, literate ruling class and left their imprint on everything from tombs to papyrus. Rulers range from the iron-fisted leader Narmer, depicted in temple decorations beating a bound captive in 3000 BC, to the powerful and popular female pharaoh, Hatshepsut, who reigned in the 18th Dynasty. Wilkinson gives equal attention to everyday citizens, such as Naunakht, who, during the late Ramesside Period, cut her two ungrateful daughters from her will; Mes, a treasury scribe during Ramesses II's reign, emerged victorious in a century-long family feud and the details of his court case are inscribed for perpetuity on his tomb's walls. Lavishly illustrated with 200 photos, 80 of them in color, this volume beautifully gives a voice to long-dead souls, both regal and more ordinary, whose ambitions, loves and disappointments resemble ours in significant ways.