Reviews
This book gave me the feeling of visiting everyday life in ancient Egypt in a time machine. What was life like for ordinary people in Egypt 3,400 years ago? If you’re curious, this book may be for you. I wanted to hear about their lives vividly through stories, so I decided to read it. It felt as if I had stepped right into their time and their lives; the experience came alive. You could call this a work that vividly reconstructs the humble daily life of ancient Egypt that we might otherwise
“The Empire’s Twelve Months” is the Egypt volume in Tain’s Thought’s “History That Reads Like a Novel” series. Set during ancient Egypt’s prosperous era, it tells the story of a year in the lives of people who lived in this remarkable age. That’s why it’s described as “everyday life in ancient Egypt, told like a novel.” As a kind of historical fiction, it lets anyone experience a year living in ancient Egypt while reading. Archaeologist Donald P. Ryan, an expert in ancient Egyptian studies who
“The falcon has left this world and ascended to the heavens.” (p. 160) Whenever I read about world history or the lives of great people, I often think of history as something separate from our own lives. But while reading this book, I found myself realizing that our yesterday, today, and tomorrow also take their places on the pages of history, one moment after another. The book features many different people: ordinary Egyptian farmers Bakki and Mutui; Nefer, a Nile fisherman; Minakht, a palace
[Egypt through the stories of many people] When I was young, my dream was to time-slip to ancient Egypt 3,000 years ago. Pretty absurd, right?! Even I laugh when I think of it now, but back then I was completely serious. I believed that if I prayed hard, my dream would come true. The idea came from a novel aimed at girls like me. I still remember its title: “Love Blooming on the Nile”. Haha! Now that I’ve written the title down, why am I so embarrassed?! I’m cringing. A college student majoring
A vivid, accessible account of ancient Egyptian life around 1400 BC, from farmers and fishermen to scribes, mummy makers and pharaohs. Photographs of real artifacts and sites help readers see the world rather than merely imagine it. I was glad to find details about the Valley of the Kings and the Place of Truth, which I had encountered in The Stone of Light. The author is a renowned archaeologist who led excavations and discovered tombs and mummies; I wonder what it feels like to uncover a site
Here is an unexpected work of humanities nonfiction about ancient Egypt: The Twelve Months of the Empire. Written like a novel or a diary, it brings everyday life in ancient Egypt vividly to life. Reading it is like spending a month or a year living abroad—you get to experience a full year in ancient Egypt. People in Korea often have little interest in Egyptian culture. They may know a few of the country’s best-known artifacts and archaeological sites, but few want to learn in depth about
The classical roots of Western civilization are usually said to be Greece and Rome. Yet long before them, Egypt, across the Mediterranean, had developed advanced agriculture and a centralized state, and created a diverse mythology and rich intellectual culture. The immense power of their empire can still be seen in the pyramids, and we still don’t know exactly how these structures were built. Even in the 21st century, Egypt remains an inexhaustible source of imagination and inspiration (p.
Egypt is a country with a long history and a culture that has flourished since ancient times, and it still fascinates and captivates people today. From its mythology to its dynasties and culture, it has many mysterious and appealing qualities even to modern eyes. It’s natural to wonder how Egypt experienced such a glorious period of prosperity in ancient times and what life was like for Egyptians then. “The Empire’s Twelve Months” takes us around Egypt and naturally shows us how its people
Egypt is famous for its pyramids, Sphinx, hieroglyphs and ancient mummies. Historians use pharaohs' traces, pyramid records and murals to understand the era and common people. Renowned Egypt scholar Dr. Ryan's novel The Twelve Months of the Empire focuses on the daily lives of ordinary people and officials serving pharaohs, and on an earlier era than Moses and the Exodus under Ramesses II. Ra was important in Egyptian culture, and the author uses twelve months and the Nile's regular flooding to
Last year I loved A Walk Through Everyday Life in China Two Thousand Years Ago, whose narrator lived the daily life of someone from the past. The Twelve Months of the Empire uses a similar approach for Egypt, portraying ordinary people rather than focusing on pyramids, pharaohs, heroes and wars. Set around 1400 BC in the early New Kingdom, when Egypt influenced neighboring lands, it shows that Egyptians used twelve months and 365 days. Chapters feature a farmer, Amenhotep, fisherman, scribe,
Donald P. Ryan: Twelve Months of the Empire
Egypt, around 1400 BCE. After Amenhotep II, who had ruled Egypt for 26 years, dies suddenly, his son Thutmose IV becomes the new ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt. While the Egyptian army sweeps across the border, builders work without pause to complete Amenhotep II’s tomb, and all the lavish ornaments destined to adorn it are made right on schedule. Meanwhile, countless Egyptians continue the daily lives that have carried on unchanged for thousands of years. Following the ancient Egyptian year, divided into three seasons by the Nile’s flooding, this historical novel imagines the ordinary people of the Egyptian Empire. Meet the many people who sustained ancient Egypt: a village farmer hoping to avoid forced labor, a Nile fisherman who never has a dull day, a potter who loves making vessels more than romance, and a mummification expert with a weighty responsibility. Through their daily lives in Memphis and Thebes, the political and religious centers of ancient Egypt, take a close look at life in this flourishing civilization.
Korean title: 제국의 열두 달
Korean author: 도널드 P. 라이언
Korean publisher: 타인의사유
ISBN-13: 9791172036607
Reviews
This book gave me the feeling of visiting everyday life in ancient Egypt in a time machine. What was life like for ordinary people in Egypt 3,400 years ago? If you’re curious, this book may be for you. I wanted to hear about their lives vividly through stories, so I decided to read it. It felt as if I had stepped right into their time and their lives; the experience came alive. You could call this a work that vividly reconstructs the humble daily life of ancient Egypt that we might otherwise
“The Empire’s Twelve Months” is the Egypt volume in Tain’s Thought’s “History That Reads Like a Novel” series. Set during ancient Egypt’s prosperous era, it tells the story of a year in the lives of people who lived in this remarkable age. That’s why it’s described as “everyday life in ancient Egypt, told like a novel.” As a kind of historical fiction, it lets anyone experience a year living in ancient Egypt while reading. Archaeologist Donald P. Ryan, an expert in ancient Egyptian studies who
“The falcon has left this world and ascended to the heavens.” (p. 160) Whenever I read about world history or the lives of great people, I often think of history as something separate from our own lives. But while reading this book, I found myself realizing that our yesterday, today, and tomorrow also take their places on the pages of history, one moment after another. The book features many different people: ordinary Egyptian farmers Bakki and Mutui; Nefer, a Nile fisherman; Minakht, a palace
[Egypt through the stories of many people] When I was young, my dream was to time-slip to ancient Egypt 3,000 years ago. Pretty absurd, right?! Even I laugh when I think of it now, but back then I was completely serious. I believed that if I prayed hard, my dream would come true. The idea came from a novel aimed at girls like me. I still remember its title: “Love Blooming on the Nile”. Haha! Now that I’ve written the title down, why am I so embarrassed?! I’m cringing. A college student majoring
A vivid, accessible account of ancient Egyptian life around 1400 BC, from farmers and fishermen to scribes, mummy makers and pharaohs. Photographs of real artifacts and sites help readers see the world rather than merely imagine it. I was glad to find details about the Valley of the Kings and the Place of Truth, which I had encountered in The Stone of Light. The author is a renowned archaeologist who led excavations and discovered tombs and mummies; I wonder what it feels like to uncover a site
Here is an unexpected work of humanities nonfiction about ancient Egypt: The Twelve Months of the Empire. Written like a novel or a diary, it brings everyday life in ancient Egypt vividly to life. Reading it is like spending a month or a year living abroad—you get to experience a full year in ancient Egypt. People in Korea often have little interest in Egyptian culture. They may know a few of the country’s best-known artifacts and archaeological sites, but few want to learn in depth about
The classical roots of Western civilization are usually said to be Greece and Rome. Yet long before them, Egypt, across the Mediterranean, had developed advanced agriculture and a centralized state, and created a diverse mythology and rich intellectual culture. The immense power of their empire can still be seen in the pyramids, and we still don’t know exactly how these structures were built. Even in the 21st century, Egypt remains an inexhaustible source of imagination and inspiration (p.
Egypt is a country with a long history and a culture that has flourished since ancient times, and it still fascinates and captivates people today. From its mythology to its dynasties and culture, it has many mysterious and appealing qualities even to modern eyes. It’s natural to wonder how Egypt experienced such a glorious period of prosperity in ancient times and what life was like for Egyptians then. “The Empire’s Twelve Months” takes us around Egypt and naturally shows us how its people
Egypt is famous for its pyramids, Sphinx, hieroglyphs and ancient mummies. Historians use pharaohs' traces, pyramid records and murals to understand the era and common people. Renowned Egypt scholar Dr. Ryan's novel The Twelve Months of the Empire focuses on the daily lives of ordinary people and officials serving pharaohs, and on an earlier era than Moses and the Exodus under Ramesses II. Ra was important in Egyptian culture, and the author uses twelve months and the Nile's regular flooding to
Last year I loved A Walk Through Everyday Life in China Two Thousand Years Ago, whose narrator lived the daily life of someone from the past. The Twelve Months of the Empire uses a similar approach for Egypt, portraying ordinary people rather than focusing on pyramids, pharaohs, heroes and wars. Set around 1400 BC in the early New Kingdom, when Egypt influenced neighboring lands, it shows that Egyptians used twelve months and 365 days. Chapters feature a farmer, Amenhotep, fisherman, scribe,
