Fascinating topic that covers a pretty in-depth look of Egyptology and it's impact on the world. Great read, maybe not as narrative as it oculd have been, but still pretty engaging.

While some people see archaeologists are grave robbers, I am fascinated with the history they uncover. I loved reading the stories of those who traveled to Egypt to search for treasure. It was interesting to read how certain things were almost never discovered. While this will not appeal to everyone, those who love ancient Egypt and non-fiction history will love it!

Toby Wilkinson is the best Egyptologist writing today! He covers the same ground as much of the traditional scholarship, but is highly detailed and meticulous in his accounts and succeeds in incorporating new research that makes the work feel fresh and modern. This is an interesting contribution to Wilkinson's body of work in that it finally steps back from the history of Egypt to specifically examine the artefact excavation and display that was so vital to the study of Ancient Egypt. The author does not shy away from acknowledging the historical wrongs, and outright cultural theft of artifacts. He also does an excellent job capturing the societal 'crazes' that often accompanied discoveries in the field. A fun and fascinating read

If your purpose in reading this book is purely about information gathering, you won’t be disappointed. Wilkinson gives us the stem-to-stern account of the Golden Age of Egyptology, and his research and analysis want for nothing.

Narratively though, this could have been better. While not as dry as, say, just reading a textbook, this is absolutely not the riveting brand of narrative nonfiction that I enjoy so much.

That fact is especially disappointing given that the subject matter lends itself so well to the concept of storytelling in nonfiction. Wilkinson has clearly tried to go this route (there’s a joke here and there, or at least a few attempts at jokes), but the writing doesn’t flow or grab the way I wished that it would have.

The choice to jump back and forth in time repeatedly to focus on individuals rather than following a linear timeline didn’t help. It would have been more difficult to write this chronologically of course, and I’m guessing that’s why it is formatted as it is.

I certainly appreciate the quality of research demonstrated by the author and I definitely gathered some good information from the book, but the writing really fell short of the standards for good nonfiction.

Ever since I was a kid, I have been fascinated with Egypt. Over the years, I have watched countless documentaries and read books (both fiction and non-fiction) that detail life in Ancient Egypt as well as the uncovering of artifacts and temples in the past 200+ years. A WORLD BENEATH THE SANDS focuses on roughly a hundred-year period of Egyptology—beginning with Giovanni Battista Belzoni explorations in Egypt and the decipherment of hieroglyphs in the early 1800s up through the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922. Not only does Dr. Wilkinson detail the discoveries (and conflicts) of the British, German, French, and American explorers/archaeologists, he also provides a historical analysis of Egypt during the period in which all this exploration was taking place. A WORLD BENEATH THE SANDS is not just about Ancient Egypt or Egyptology. It is also about how these other countries used their influence in Egypt and shaped the country. It also exposes the dark history of how these countries “invaded” Egypt and stripped her of many historical artifacts and treasures.

If you are interested in reading about the history of Egyptology and learning more about the key players, I strongly suggest reading A WORLD BENEATH THE SANDS. I also recommend the book to any fans of Elizabeth Peters’ and her Amelia Peabody series. Many of the European archaeologists who make appearances in the series are real people, and it is fascinating to learn more about them.

In A World Beneath the Sands Toby Wilkinson explores the beginnings of Egyptology. Starting with Napoleon's Egyptian campaign- which produced no successes for the French army, but widespread fascination with Egypt from the cultural point of view, and finding the famous Rosetta Stone- and stretching on for more than 100 years to Howard Carter's discovery of King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Wilkinson offers readers a meticulously well-researched account of European fascination with Egypt's cultural past. From Champollion to Carter, Mariette to Petrie, A World Beneath the Sands explores the methods, discoveries, and motives of the early European archaeologists. Many came to make great discoveries and become famous, others for the thrill of knowledge, and a disturbing number came as little more than glorified treasure hunters. A few, like Petrie, worked hard to establish methods that would record each discovery as it was found. Many more, especially early on, were more than happy to chisel out the pieces they wanted from walls or tombs or literally dynamite out their 'prizes'. The dark history of European museum collections like those found in the Louvre and the British Museum is brought into the light here.

It is easy to read A World Beneath the Sands as a series of adventures and dramas, ruthless battles between (primarily) the French and English for control of, and preeminence in, the cultural knowledge of ancient Egypt. From amateur adventurers to dedicated philologists seeking to unravel the mysteries of Egypt's hieroglyphics, scientific approaches to archaeology are late to the scene and there are plenty of cringe-worthy stories of removing artifacts, obelisks, and temple pieces. Culture clashes, imperialist agendas and debates on who can best care for a culture's history are all brought up, and I thought Wilkinson did a good job of presenting the facts without pressing his own opinion. At the same time, the facts presented rather speak for themselves.

A World Beneath the Sands does an excellent job of telling the story of Europe's discovery of and fascination with Egypt. It is a readable, comprehensive, and accessible account of over 100 years of discovery that never shies away from the harsher results of Europe's imperialistic approach to Egypt's ancient past.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I went into this book thinking that I would be reading about the archaeology of Ancient Egypt: stories of King Tut's tomb and excavations. This is not quite what I thought it would be. It was interesting, but different than what I thought I would be getting.

The book focuses more on how other countries have had an interest in Egypt, and how those countries have looked to benefit from Egypt's storied past.

The last few chapters I found to be the most engaging, perhaps because those were stories I had known of before. Overall, though, this is a fairly balanced book that I think holds a unique spot in the history of Ancient Egypt and Egyptian studies. So much has been written about Egypt, but not much about how that history has been uncovered and used by other countries. Perhaps this is a product of our globalized world? I can't help but think that Wilkinson has been influenced by the recent trends in Atlantic history- adapting the ideas to the land of the Nile.

To be clear, if you are looking for a book about Carter and other explorers, this isn't the most accessible. However, if you are looking to how nation-states have used and influenced our understanding of Ancient Egypt, then I recommend it.

In A World Beneath the Sands, by Toby Wilkerson, we see the sordid, exciting, criminal, exhilarating history of the first 130-ish years of Egyptology. Wilkinson begins with Napoleon Bonaparte’s Egyptian expedition in 1798 and ends with Howard Carter’s opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. In that time period, Wilkinson takes us from days in which European knowledge of ancient Egypt was entirely informed by the bible and semi-accurate accounts from Greek and Roman historians to modern regulations and regimented archaeology. This might sound bland and more academic than most people would want, but I was highly entertained by the anecdotes Wilkinson found to punctuate discussions of translation and digging. I was also highly infuriated at the high-handed and sticky-fingered ways of the early European Egyptologists. I expect most readers will finish this book with the same feelings I did: wonder and irritation in equal measure.

When I think of archaeology, I think of a dirt field with grids stretched across it with string. Brushes, tools, and bits of pottery or stone are strewn around, lying in situ to be photographed and documented before it is whisked away to the labs at a museum. Early archaeology was…very much not that. The earliest Egyptologists were a cross between scholars and graverobbers. Wilkinson’s recounting of their activities often looks like this: European arrives, hires a bunch of local workers, frantically digs up anything that looks interesting, grabbing anything that looks good, and hauling it off to the British Museum, the Louvre, or the Berlin Museum. (It was decades after Napoleon’s expedition that the Cairo Museum was founded and even later that Egyptians were in charge of granting digging concessions.)

There are a few heroes in A World Beneath the Sands, all of them flawed. Jean-François Champollion, who is given credit for translating ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, was an obsessive who deeply resented anyone stealing his limelight. William Flinders Petrie was one of the first people whose work looked like modern archaeology, but he often worked naked and required everyone to eat tins of more-or-less spoiled food. (In one excerpt from a person who worked with Flinders Petrie, it was rumored that cans were thrown and only eaten if they didn’t explode on contact.) Muhammad Ali was the first independent ruler of Egypt in centuries and did much to modernize Egypt, but he was also a ruthless dictator who instituted the hated corvée system—which took abled bodied men away from their homes to work on labor-intensive, dangerous jobs. There were also quite a few men out there in the sands who were more graverobber than anything else.

I’ve always been interested in the history of different sciences for a lot of reasons. A World Beneath the Sands hit a lot of those reasons. First, ethics always lag behind practice. A lot of crimes can be committed before laws are created to actually make things illegal. Second, everyone is making things up as they go along. The early Egyptologists didn’t have photography; they relied on their own notes and drawings to document their finds—assuming they even bothered to make notes or drawings. Because some of those things are now standard practice, I wonder if there are better ways of doing things or if there are things we’re doing now are causing unforeseen problems. Third, I love getting the context around the big discoveries. We take so many of these discoveries for granted—being able to read hieroglyphics, knowing all the monarchs and dynasties, being able to see Tutankhamun’s funerary mask or Nefertiti’s bust—has me looking at Egyptology in a new light. I knew that a lot of the Egyptian collections in European museums were stolen, but I was astounded at how casual Europeans were about packing things up and shipping them home. On the other hand, I marveled at how Champollion, Thomas Young, and others were able to translate something as challenging as Egyptian languages mostly through sheer determination.

There are some places in A World Beneath the Sands that drag, but I found it to be engaging and terrifically researched. Wilkinson’s history of Egyptology is a fantastic read, partly because the test is full of well-chosen quotes that let the early Egyptologists speak for themselves (only sometimes shoving their sandy shoes in their mouths). Wilkinson also does an excellent job of putting Egyptology into its political context. All of this philology and science and art theft plays out against a constantly shifting background of alliances, betrayals, nationalist sentiments, rebellions, and oppression. I really appreciated that Wilkinson kept reminding me of the plight of ordinary Egyptians, the ones who were doing all the heavy lifting with very little (if any) pay only to see the bulk of what they dug up shipped off to Europe. A World Beneath the Sands was everything that I could have hoped for in a work of historical nonfiction.

An enthralling, ambitious look at early Egypt and the fierce and surprising history of those who sought to unearth her treasures. Toby Wilkinson is not only the perfect guide to the period, he is an elegant, insightful writer: this is a rich and rewarding read, highly recommended!

This book is a great peek into the world that Egyptians 3000 years ago lived in. Ancient Egypt is an easy place to be fascinated by: its rich history and complex cultural habits paired with colorful art and monumental construction feats make Ancient Egypt a place of awe. This book brings so much of that place to life for the reader that it’s hard to remember most of the world envisioned has been lost to the sands for thousands of years.

An interesting and enthralling story of a well trod subject. It's easy to be swept into the narrative of A World Beneath the Sands, and feel as a reader as though you, too, are uncovering history. While well researched, this book manages to create a very effective story, detailing the lives of Egyptologists and their discoveries. The book is sure to jump off of the shelves.

I am obsessed with stories of ancient Egypt and any reader like me will be as captivated by A WORLD BENEATH THE SANDS. Thinking of pyramids, King Tut’s tomb, hieroglyphics, and the Nile Valley makes me swoon, which I did while devouring this glorious account. It reveals how worldwide adventurers endured cut-throat rivalries to unravel the region’s secrets and treasures.

Toby Wilkinson is a globally renown Egyptologist and also author of the New York Times best-selling The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, which won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History. He knows his stuff!

To enhance the experience, I suggest a feast of rich dates, red wine and John Williams’ soaring Indiana Jones’ score while you savor A WORLD BENEATH THE SANDS. Happy reading!

5 of 5 Stars

Pub Date 20 Oct 2020

Thanks to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

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