River in the Desert: Modern Travels in Ancient Egypt

From its early pages, with quotes from such disparate sources as the ancient Greek historian Herodotus and the late mystic Gurdjieff, this travel book proves unconventional, highly entertaining, instructive and beautifully written. Roberts, a Canadian journalist and screenwriter, spent three months taking in the ambience of Egypt's great sites and cities, from the desert to Cairo and Alexandria and along the Nile to Luxor, Thebes and Aswan. His observations, punctuated by those of other writers who visited the country (such as Flaubert, Agatha Christie and Norman Mailer) reveal a well-stocked mind, a charming wit and sophisticated interest in people. ``If I were to travel abroad only once in my life,'' Roberts notes in the preface, ``Egypt would be my destination.'' The elegance and verve of his personalized and seductive account of this ancient culture's history, mythology and politics will likely prompt many readers to agree. (Mar.)