The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

by Elizabeth Payne

For more than 3,000 years, Egypt was a great civilization that thrived along the banks of the Nile River. But when its cities crumbled to dust, Egypt’s culture and the secrets of its hieroglyphic writings were
also lost. The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt explains how archaeologists have pieced together their discoveries to slowly reveal the history of Egypt’s people, its pharaohs, and its golden days.

Genres: History, Egypt, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Historical, Childrens, Africa

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Elizabeth Payne grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and was graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. She worked as a reporter on the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times and Newsweek magazine, and as a reporter, feature writer, and editor on the newspaper PM. Miss Payne has two sons and is married to the novelist and playwright, Jerome Weidman. The family's interest in archaeology and history has taken them on many trips to Europe and the Near East.

Reviews

[Ardeshir · Rating 4 out of 5]

تاریخ مصر و فراعنه همیشه جالب و جذابه

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapters are quite long and involved, but there is a lot of great information. The narratives, particularly the descriptions of battles, are written in exciting fashion. One could wish for full-color photographs instead of the black-and-white ones, but such are readily available online to supplement.

Although this is better suited for older students, the kids found it engaging as a read-aloud - more so than I would have expected.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and easy to follow

[Omid Hosseini · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب خوبی بود در مورد تمدن باشکوه و شگفت‌انگیز مصر؛ از ظهور تا افول و نابودی؛ از فرعون‌ها که در فرهنگ اون زمان به عنوان خدا-پادشاه شناخته می‌شدن و از فرهنگ و زندگی مردم مصر.
روایت داستانی کتاب هم خوب و به‌اندازه بود

[Sasha (bahareads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt is a comprehensive read that is great for children and adults alike who are interested in learning a little bit more about the ancient rulers of Egypt. I learned facts that I had never heard before! The narrative was informative, yet fun. The pictures added to the story and helped spark the images of ancient Egypt to life. I did not like how Payne smoothed over to make it seem like the peasants of Ancient Egypt always lived a good life in times of 'peace.' Obviously the narrative is much more complicated than that. Overall a great succinct history of ancient Egypt.

[Bahman Bahman · Rating 3 out of 5]

فرعون صد سال زیست
فرعون ها هزار
بشمار با صبر سال ها و سلسله ها را
هرچه هست می گذرد

[Carrie Brownell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book aloud with my kids. It's a bit convoluted and over their heads as a history read, but very informative. I probably enjoyed it more than they did (as the chapters were long and detailed in several directions). It was a good stretching read which taught them a lot about ancient Egyptian history.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have been a nice compact little history… if only there had a been a source or two for the many odd facts and quotations?! The bibliography is nonexistent, so I have no idea how much of it is true or where to even check. Entertaining, but kind of a waste of time until I can fact check.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this would have been a better free read / independent book. I preferred _Ancient Egypt and Her Neighbors_ for our school readings.

[Sonal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short crisp informative book on ancient Egypt based on actual findings and excavations by archaeologists. It covers the life and works of most important/known Pharaohs. A great non-fictional introductory read for anyone planning to visit Egypt.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging and well-written book that covers Egyptian history. I was as captivated by it as my 13, 12 and 10 year old students.

[Carmen Pérez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a fascinating elementary-middle grade school book that begins with the discovery and translation of the Rosetta Stone. In the next seven chapters, the book continues in a well-written and accessible vein discussing the life and exploits of the kind and of the infamous pharaohs of ancient Egypt. The author hots the highlights of Egypt’s 3,000 years of BC history. In addition, gives some details about the archeological re-discovery of ancient Egypt and its culture and traditions during the 19th and 20th centuries. Obviously, since the book was first published in 1964, more recent advances in this topic are not included. However, this is a good introduction to the study of ancient Egyptian history, adequate for elementary and even middle school-aged students. As part of my reading, I did some research to find out where the biblical stories of Joseph, Moses, and the Israelite people fit into this Egyptian historical journey. I think that although it is not discussed in the book, it could be somewhere between Pharaoh Akhnaton and Pharaoh Rameses I or as part of one of these periods. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a light and entertaining read about the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. I love it. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

[Joseph Wetterling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the core of our 3rd grade history study of Egypt. The narrative was just that--a narrative. We took turns reading, as a family, and everyone enjoyed it. My wife and I both found ourselves reading faster through the battles out of excitement. It was understandable to our son, with some review and refreshing, and fun for all of us to learn from.

[WSL Library]

X2

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite interesting and informative book.

[TE · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1964, this overview of Egyptian history is one in the International Landmark book series, which is one of the first I've read. One of my favorite courses as a history graduate student was a year-long series in ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern history, offered by an Ancient Near East specialist. It was comprised of three courses: the Ancient Near East, Egypt and ancient Israel and the Levant. I think the Egyptian course was my favorite of the three, because it's just a fascinating subject, and there are so many museums across the country and the world which display artifacts from that time and region. Haven't actually made it to Egypt yet, but that's pretty high up on my bucket list. Not sure if I will ever get there, as travel is much more difficult than when I was younger, but never say never.

This is a fairly short but comprehensive overview of the several thousand years of Egyptian history. Most people just know about the pyramids, but what they often don't realize is that there was a civilization even older than they are, and certainly one which came after. All told, the ancient Egyptian civilization and even its language spanned a history of about 3,000 years. That is to say: the pyramids were older to the ancient Romans than the Colosseum is to us. That's a LOT of time.

Considering that Egyptian history spans three millennia, this book just hits the very renowned highlights, but that's a good place to start. I would have liked for the author to include the standard periodization which is used when addressing ancient Egyptian history (i.e., Early/Neolithic, Old Kingdom; First Intermediate Period; Middle Kingdom; Second Intermediate Period; New Kingdom;
Third Intermediate Period; Late Period; Hellenistic, and Roman Egypt), because it helps to organize events into a manageable paradigm. The book does include photos, maps and other images which also help to make the material more accessible, especially for young readers.

Some of the drawbacks: it still has some bothersome, dated language (still irks me when authors, although products of their time, use the word "savage" to refer to non-urbanized ancient nomadic or tribal peoples), but the books are a product of their time, too. I get that we get the term from the French "sauvage," meaning wild or untamed, itself borrowed from the Late Latin "salvaticus," an alteration or vowel assimilation of the Latin "silvaticus" (meaning "woodland," lit. "of the woods," from silva "forest, grove"), but that's not typically what is meant in English. The latter, "of the woods" or "of the forest" or wilderness may work, actually, so maybe that term is preferable! It also tends to take information translated from ancient texts at face value, but at the end, does discuss the overt bragging of Tuthmose III as propaganda rather than fact, but I think I would have made this a more prominent feature of the book, as it provides a good opportunity for even young readers to engage in some textual criticism.

There's also some factual errors and omissions, which are generally forgivable considering the book's age, and that have a half-century's worth of research and additional archaeological evidence to draw from (i.e., with regard to Tutankhamen, DNA testing has identified "mummy within tomb KV55," thought to be the pharaoh Akhenaten, as his father. His mother has been identified as a mummy from tomb KV35 (also his aunt), called "The Younger Lady" (some sources think that Tiy was his mother) although the genealogy is still somewhat debated. It's a good example of how the discipline of archaeology has changed over the past half-century!

Hopefully this short but packed-with-information introduction to Egyptian and ancient history (it does reference later figures which may need some explaining to young readers, such as the Greek... "historian"/storyteller Herodotus) will inspire additional reading and research projects for students of all ages. I'm glad that these are making it into the series, as an ancient historian: can never start too young in terms of introducing new generations to our ancient past.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told as in story form, this non-fiction book outlines the chronology of the most well known pharaohs in ancient Egypt. With maps and pictures, the reader is able to gain a better understanding of the ancient world. As an added bonus, the book not only tells the stories of each pharaoh, but it also tells about the discovery of those pharaohs including when and how their tombs were uncovered. So while the book reads almost like a novel, it is laid out like a reference book and could be used to refer back to while reading other texts on the subject. It's a quick read to boost anyone's knowledge of Egyptian pharaohs.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is that perfect combination of historical details and fun stories. Much of the history is told in narrative, from Napoleon's men discovering the Rosetta Stone to Akhenaton's rise and fall from power in worshiping only the sun god. I would have enjoyed this book as much at ten years old as I did in my late twenties. This is a really fun book and, if you are a fan of Ancient Egypt, it's a nice, light read.

[Bethany Cousins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delving into the annals of history, The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt sheds light on Egypt's rich civilization spanning over 3,000 years along the Nile River. As cities crumbled, so did the secrets encrypted in hieroglyphics. This book intriguingly unfolds the meticulous work of archaeologists, gradually unveiling the captivating narrative of Egypt's populace, its pharaohs, and the golden epochs of its past. This is a captivating and invaluable resource.

[Chris J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is written for a middle school audience or for public school idiots like myself. Payne does a nice job writing concise history in a fashion that captures what is great about history and historical discovery. This is a fantastic read for a young man or woman (12-ish) who has a decent background in Egyptian history and geography.

[Mary Sasala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic read aloud with my 6 and 4 year old during our Egypt study. It’s non-fiction, which I prefer, that is in no way dumbed down but is simplified for children to understand. I found it fascinating and the kids still remember little nuggets. It does a good job incorporating a history of archeology as well as Egyptian history. It brings to life the battles and pharaohs.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids and I LOVED this book. It doesn't look like much the writing was engaging from the first page. The entire story of Ancient Egypt was complete fascinating. As we read we'd look up You Tube videos to learn more about the people, artifacts, and discoveries that were being discussed and referenced which just made it come alive. Everyone loved this book!

[Caleb Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is much better than how I remember it from years ago. It is a great introduction to the subject, and wonderful to read while listening to Rachmaninov.

The one vital error in this book is that it scarcely references by far the most important certain, clear, and substantial source--the Bible. That is a major problem in the bias.

[Niki (nikilovestoread) · Rating 5 out of 5]

As this was originally published in 1964, some of the information is a bit dated in consideration of all the archeology that has been done in Egypt since then. However, there is a lot of information in this small book that is remains correct and it makes for a fascinating read. My kids and I all enjoyed it and kearney a lot about the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really just an outstanding, engaging, fascinating book about Ancient Egypt and those who ruled it. Ideal chapter lengths for reading aloud, and perfect pacing for reading one chapter a week to supplement our study of Ancient Egypt.

[Taralee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this aloud to my kids. I loved it and found it very interesting. A couple kids loved it and a couple were less interested but still commented on certain facts they found interesting. The book was very informative.

[Rohit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast paced, easily accessible for those who want a quick summary of Egypt's ancient history and its magnificent kings. The photos add a nice touch to the well written text. For an in depth exploration, look elsewhere.

[SU · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative on some landmark pharaohs for those interested in Ancient Egyptian history. Quite appropriate for kids. Would be a good first book on Egypt.

But for those readers already familiar with Egyptian Pharoahs there isn’t too much value addition.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good, but I personally found it a little boring and hard to focus on. I usually prefer fiction over non-fiction, so that probably had to do with my opinion of the book. Over all, I definitely think it was worth reading.

[Kristy Grove · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was required reading for our literature-based ancient civilization curriculum. I found parts of this interesting and it gave a thorough history of the pharaohs. The book would’ve benefited from putting the pictures in color. It was a bit drawn out for a middle schooler.