Egypt

2018 Outstanding Academic Title

* Choice *it is Riggs’s apparently inexhaustible fund of examples, and the well-targeted deployment of her material, from the physical remains of ancient Egypt itself to the iconography of the Arab Spring, that engages and carries the reader through this lively and informative survey. Tracing her story from the Roman period to the present day, Riggs guides us through the influences this “lost” civilization has exerted, and the numerous reactions it has provoked … Accessibly written, assuming no prior knowledge on the reader’s part, it has an engaging tone, and never patronizes. * TLS *Christina Riggs’s Egypt is one of Reaktion Books’ accessible and informative Lost Civilizations guides. It is, however, much more than a chronological survey of ancient Egypt; it is also an elegant and intriguing thematic interpretation of that civilisation’s grip on our imagination ever since. * Minerva *With this book, Riggs admirably achieves the objectives of the publisher’s “Lost Civilizations” series, which looks at the rise and fall of a civilization and assesses its artistic and cultural legacy, and explains why it remains relevant for readers today. Riggs concludes that ancient Egypt has been gone for two thousand years, and so is lost. While many remains from ancient Egypt have survived, she asserts that each culture, society, or generation interprets them differently … For those seeking a brief introduction, Riggs’s book, including its chronology and bibliography, is perfect … Essential. * Choice *This refreshingly different and beautifully written account of ancient Egypt goes beyond the ancient civilization itself to explore the ways in which it can be said to be lost and rediscovered. * Gay Robins, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Art History, Emory University *