Egypt: Pharaonic Period.

• Author: Evans, Linda
• Position: Book review

Egypt: Pharaonic Period. BY ALESSIA FASSONE and ENRICO FERRARIS. Translated by Jay Hyams. Dictionaries of Civilization, Berkeley and Los Angeles: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS, 2008. Pp. 384, illus. $24.95 (paper).

Walk into any bookshop around the world and you will be sure to find an extensive Egyptology section, ranging from simple coffee-table books to serious academic expositions. It would be fair to say, however, that despite the variety of titles, many of those aimed at a general readership frequently repeat the same information. In short, if you've seen one, you've seen them all! Egypt: Pharaonic Period would not be out of place in such company, but purchasers of this volume will undoubtedly have in their possession a particularly comprehensive encyclopaedia that will be a handy reference for years to come.

Like other volumes from the Dictionaries of Civilization scries, the book is quite small in format and hence can be easily accommodated, either on the Egyptophile's bookshelf or in a tourist's hand luggage. It is organized into seven major themes that together cover all of the major time periods and most of the pertinent features of Egyptian civilization, namely People, State and Society, Religion and Science, Daily Life, the World of the Dead, Sites and Monuments, and the History of Egyptology. Each section is then subdivided into a col lection of one-page introductions that touch upon a specific related topic. "People," for example, highlights the lives and achievements of a diverse group of monarchs, as well as other notable individuals (e.g.. Scnenmut), to thereby represent most of the major historical figures from the Archaic era to the Late Period. "Daily Life" includes features on village organization, agriculture, plants, animals, food, the home, art, artisans, and entertainment, as well as many others. Each entry is enriched by a selection of photographs of associated sites and/or artifacts that appear on subsequent pages; extensive captions that accompany these illustrations not only describe their photographic subjects, but also tie them directly to the topic at hand.

Particularly useful arc facts contained in the sidebars of each synopsis. These can include a transliteration and translation of hieroglyphic texts placed above the title for some topics, chronological guidelines, iconographical details, important historical events, and lists of related entries located elsewhere in the volume. Also provided are small...