MOUNTAINS OF THE PHAROAHS: The Untold Story of the Pyramid Builders, affordable paperback of Zahi Hawass at his most tendentious

MOUNTAINS OF THE PHAROAHS: The Untold Story of the Pyramid Builders
ZAHI HAWASS
The American University in Cairo Press
$24.95 trade paper, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: World-renowned archaeologist Zahi Hawass weaves a spellbinding narrative about how the pyramids were built and why, new in paperback

Nearly five thousand years ago, the fourth dynasty of Egypt’s Old Kingdom reigned over a highly advanced civilization. Believed to be gods, the royal family lived amid colossal palaces and temples built to honor them and their deified ancestors.

In Mountains of the Pharaohs, Zahi Hawass brings these extraordinary historical figures to life, detailing a soap opera-like saga complete with murder, incest, and the triumphant ascension to the throne of one of only four queens ever to rule Egypt. It was during this dynasty that the magnificent pyramids of Giza were built. These monuments attest not only to the dynasty’s supreme power, but also to the engineering expertise and architectural sophistication that flourished under its rule.

Hawass tells the complete story of the pyramids, weaving archaeological data with a history of Egypt’s powerful pharaohs, and argues that the pyramids—including the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World still standing—were built by skilled craftsmen who took great pride in their work.

Illustrated with black-and-white photographs and drawings, Mountains of the Pharaohs is a compelling account of one of civilization’s greatest achievements.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: If you've watched a single documentary about Egypt in the last thirty years, you've seen and heard the inimitable Zahi Hawass addressing us in those unique cadences as he expounds on his passion. His life has been dedicated to spreading factual knowledge about the history of one of Earth's earliest superpowers. He's risen to the august heights of the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. This narrative history is about the Fourth Dynasty pharoahs who created by their incredible command of Egypt's entire resources the pyramids at Giza.

There are nineteen black & white images to bring the text to life.

I offer these six to show you what you are in for. The American University in Cairo Press made this trade paper edition to their usual quality standard. You'll be treated to a story that is astonishing in its timelessness, amazing in how very old it is, and unnerving in how familiar the personalities are.

Personalities are all we have left when history gets through with us. Hawass has one of the Egyptian personalities that will shape the pharoahs' journey into a very long future, one even greater than they could've imagined. Read his spirited advocacy of the culture and people who...by their own mental and physical labor...created the pyramids that we're gawkin' at five thousand years on.