Book Review: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

The Wall Street Journal

Toby Wilkinson's "The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt" stands in the great tradition of Breasted but incorporates much new archaeological information. With a literary flair and a sense for a story well told, Mr. Wilkinson offers a highly readable, factually up-to-date account of what we know about Egyptian political history. He organizes his narrative by ruling family or "dynasty," following a design first set down by the Egyptian priest Manetho, whose account of Egyptian history (written in Greek ca. 270 B.C.) survives in summary form.