Red Land, Black Land

Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

By: Barbara Mertz

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Critic reviews

"One can only highly recommend the book." ( Natural History)

A perfect audiobook

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.

WHAT A GREAT LISTEN !

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.

Great

The book was very interesting and well narrated. The author included enough humorous asides to keep things from getting too dry. Speculation was clearly identified as such, and kept to a minimum. Given the available sources, the author did an admirable job of explaining daily life in ancient Egypt, including the various social classes.

In general

Excellent introduction to the subject. Has much detail and is not overtaxing. I recommend this as an entry level reading.

wonderful view of every day Life

Gives some wonderful insight how the ancient Egyptian life still has affect on our Modern Life.

Could not finish it

I found the narrator's voice irritating and her tone at times condescending . Found I could not listen to completion

Wonderful!

My 7 and 10 year old daughters who study a lot of history as home schoolers, LOVE this book. We listen to it every day during meals and in the car. Full of information which brings ancient Egypt to life in an entertaining manner. For adults and young history buffs, a great listen!

Best History Book

Would you consider the audio edition of Red Land, Black Land to be better than the print version?

Maybe, but the prose is brilliant and humorous, but the reader does an excellent job of expressing as it was meant

What was one of the most memorable moments of Red Land, Black Land?

Every bit of it is interesting and funny, very tongue and cheek

Which character – as performed by Lorna Raver – was your favorite?

The author

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The ancients were just like we are

Any additional comments?

As a historian, I've been through countless histories and this is the most enjoyable one I have ever read/listened to, historians take themselves far too seriously. Read the companion book to this one, then take on this prolific authors works filled with the sam,e kind of humor, Barbara Michaels and Elizabeth Peters.

Wow!

I can understand why this book has been in print for forty years. It is incredibly easy to enjoy, full of interesting details and makes me want to jump up and run off to Egypt to see all the places described.
I have read the author writing as Elizabeth Peters and knew she had an academic background, but had assumed her scholarly texts would be dry and uninviting. Boy, was I wrong.
The reader does a nice job at keeping up the pace and making it all seem like a lark. I’m so glad I read this.

Mocking Narration

I am curious to know why Lorna Raver thought it appropriate to narrate this book in such a mocking style. It's annoying and terribly distracting. Not sure what you were going for here but it's not working.