Garry Shaw

The subtitle to this work, "An Archaeological Study..." conjures up the image of an exhaustive and tedious examination of pottery fragments and arrowheads. Nothing could be further from the truth. "War and Trade with the Pharaohs" is an entertaining, often witty, overview of Egyptian history with the focus on foreign trade, diplomacy, and war. Dr. Shaw shows us how Egypt interacted with its neighbors, enemies, and trading partners, but through these interactions gives us insight into the nature of Egyptian civilization and the personalities of its rulers. "War and Trade with the Pharaohs" is perfectly suitable for the general reader and would serve admirably as an introduction to Egyptian history in general, especially for readers interested in military affairs.… (mais)

British Egyptologist Garry J. Shaw provides a commendable overview of ancient Egyptian history, with an emphasis on relations with the surrounding regions. As an introduction, this is really okay, maybe even a little too detailed. But this has not become a truly global history, in the sense that has been popular since the 1990s.
Shaw mainly focuses on the relations of Ancient Egypt with Nubia in the south, and with the Levant in the northwest. That’s a bit of a limitation. And his story gets bogged down in a long list of archaeological finds, expeditions and campaigns. All fascinating, certainly, but I still look forward to a synthetic study that exposes the connections, interactions and intertwinings for the entire Ancient Near East. More about that in my History account on goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5602575902.… (mais)

Very accessible, slightly romanticized narrative of Tutankhamun's life, of the discovery of his burial chamber and the enormous interest and controversy that still surrounds it. Don't expect any spectacular revelations, because not much is actually known about this very young pharaoh. Gary J. Shaw portrays it well and his book is absolutely scientifically sound, but I was surprised that he thought it necessary to make Tutankhamun into a kind of movie character (the narrative style is also almost like in a staged documentary). More in my History account on GR: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5034686744
With my thanks for the ARC by Netgalley and publisher Yale University Press.… (mais)