Red Land, Black Land Audiobook By Barbara Mertz cover art

Red Land, Black Land

Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options
Buy for $22.81

Buy for $22.81

Esteemed Egyptologist Barbara Mertz updates her widely praised social history of the people of ancient Egypt, which was originally published in 1968. Combining impeccable scholarship with a delightfully personal style, the author reconstructs the life of the Egyptians from birth to death, and beyond death, too.

She also presents much fascinating detail on the building of the pyramids and the intricate art of mummification. Students and laymen alike will enjoy the wealth of authentic material on every aspect of Egyptian life that Mertz provides.

©2008 MPM Manor, Inc. (P)2008 Tantor Ancient Egypt Ancient History Egypt Ancient Archaeology Witty Thought-Provoking Funny Africa Middle East Middle Ages

Critic reviews

"One can only highly recommend the book." ( Natural History)
Comprehensive Overview • Engaging Information • Excellent Narration • Humorous Writing • Scholarly Insights

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
This book was a real surprise, I mean- what can you really expect from this title? Well how about a superbly written, warm, articulate, intelligent, insightful, memorable experience. In other words, Non-fiction at its best. Though its been years since I listened to this-I can still hear the narration in my head, partly because I relistened to parts of it repeatedly-sure, but mostly because the book and narration worked so well together and told a surprisingly great story, obviously one memorable enough for me to go back years later and still be able to remember how good it was.and want to review it.

WHAT A GREAT LISTEN !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As an Egyptology student I appreciated the flow and content of the book. As a newly professed audiobook lover, the narrator is charming and I intend on seeking out more books narrated by her specifically. If/when I publish an audiobook I will be sure to find someone like her.

A perfect audiobook

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was a fun practical guide to daily life in ancient Egypt with many examples from original sources. Some of the interesting things were about how they used mathematics and medicine but also relied heavily on spells and magic. There were interesting descriptions on paintings and sculpture, jewelry and cosmetics, household pets and a spoof on a religious play. And of course lots on tombs, mummies and what robbers did to ‘protect’ themselves.

Down to earth

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wow! Why can’t every book on history and ancient civilizations be infused with this level of enthusiasm and wit? And that narrator was absolutely incredible! What an absolute delight!

Wow! Great narrator—great history!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Any additional comments?

I liked the content for an overview of ancient Egypt although not all subjects were dealt with or dealt with adequately or accurately. Overall I liked the narrator's presentation. However, the usual and inconsistent pronunciation used - with diphthongs as if some of the god names went through a Great Vowel change - was jarring. This along with the missing illustrations of the book made me wish I bought the book instead.

Perhaps the book is better

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews