Reviews
Ancient Egypt has captivated people from Caesar to Cher and this entertaining and highly readable account by television's " Mr. Mummy," Bob Brier is an informative and engaging overview of the subject. From its engaging forward by none other than Egypt's premier archaeologist, Zahi Hawass to its discussion of the "King Tut" exhibition, Egyptomania chronicles every aspect of the subject including cigarette packs, Boris Karloff and the thrilling and sometimes harrowing efforts to move the great obelisks., "Mr. Brier is proficient at elucidating Egyptology, and his passion is so sincere and good-humored that his book is rather charming." - The Wall Street Journal "Egyptomania does a good job of tracing the chronology with which Egypt fever caught on." - The New York Times "A lively account combining history and popular culture with guidelines for possible future collectors." - Kirkus Reviews "Obelisk-envy, international politics, psychology and the mania generated by the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb all appear, broken into readable chunks by amusing subheadings and illustrations. [Egyptomania] is enjoyable and informative - everything one could want from a history book." - Press Association Review, UK "This is a delightful romp through key formative events that shaped our popular passion for all things ancient Egyptian. Bob Brier's always entertaining style keeps the pace moving, yet manages to inform and educate with historical context as well. Not many scholars today can write with equal comfort about Napoleon's invasion and King Tut's Party Mix, the harrowing tale of towing an obelisk to London and 'Cleopatra had a Jazz Band'." -Peter Der Manuelian, Philip J. King Professor of Egyptology, Harvard University "Ancient Egypt has captivated people from Caesar to Cher and this entertaining and highly readable account by television's " Mr. Mummy," Bob Brier is an informative and engaging overview of the subject. From its engaging forward by none other than Egypt's premier archaeologist, Zahi Hawass to its discussion of the "King Tut" exhibition, Egyptomania chronicles every aspect of the subject including cigarette packs, Boris Karloff and the thrilling and sometimes harrowing efforts to move the great obelisks." -Dr. Peter Lacovara, Senior Curator, Carlos Museum, Emory University, Obelisk-envy, international politics, psychology and the mania generated by the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb all appear, broken into readable chunks by amusing subheadings and illustrations. [Egyptomania] is enjoyable and informative - everything one could want from a history book., A lively account combining history and popular culture with guidelines for possible future collectors., Mr. Brier is proficient at elucidating Egyptology, and his passion is so sincere and good-humored that his book is rather charming., This is a delightful romp through key formative events that shaped our popular passion for all things ancient Egyptian. Bob Brier's always entertaining style keeps the pace moving, yet manages to inform and educate with historical context as well. Not many scholars today can write with equal comfort about Napoleon's invasion and King Tut's Party Mix, the harrowing tale of towing an obelisk to London and 'Cleopatra had a Jazz Band'., "Mr. Brier is proficient at elucidating Egyptology, and his passion is so sincere and good-humored that his book is rather charming." -- The Wall Street Journal "Egyptomania does a good job of tracing the chronology with which Egypt fever caught on." -- The New York Times "A lively account combining history and popular culture with guidelines for possible future collectors." -- Kirkus Reviews "Obelisk-envy, international politics, psychology and the mania generated by the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb all appear, broken into readable chunks by amusing subheadings and illustrations. [Egyptomania] is enjoyable and informative - everything one could want from a history book." -- Press Association Review, UK "This is a delightful romp through key formative events that shaped our popular passion for all things ancient Egyptian. Bob Brier's always entertaining style keeps the pace moving, yet manages to inform and educate with historical context as well. Not many scholars today can write with equal comfort about Napoleon's invasion and King Tut's Party Mix, the harrowing tale of towing an obelisk to London and 'Cleopatra had a Jazz Band'." -- Peter Der Manuelian, Philip J. King Professor of Egyptology, Harvard University "Ancient Egypt has captivated people from Caesar to Cher and this entertaining and highly readable account by television's " Mr. Mummy," Bob Brier is an informative and engaging overview of the subject. From its engaging forward by none other than Egypt's premier archaeologist, Zahi Hawass to its discussion of the "King Tut" exhibition, Egyptomania chronicles every aspect of the subject including cigarette packs, Boris Karloff and the thrilling and sometimes harrowing efforts to move the great obelisks." -- Dr. Peter Lacovara, Senior Curator, Carlos Museum, Emory University, "The author presents solid information in this publication.... Dr. Brier's examination of ancient Egypt is brought to the readers through the contemporary cultural influence it has on the modern world,especially as the next great discovery or Hollywood sensation is likely to start the flame of passion in future generations and cast them under the spell of Egypt-Omania." - The Egyptians blog "Starting from the Roman infatuation with Cleopatra to Napoleon's desire to document everything about the exotic land to Hollywood blockbusters..., Brier chronicles centuries of Egyptomania in an accessible, entertaining narrative that never becomes too dry for a reader to follow. Obelisk-envy, international politics, psychology and the mania generated by the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb all appear, broken into readable chunks by amusing subheadings and illustrations. It's enjoyable and informative - everything one could want from a history book. 9/10." - Press Association BBC History magazine gallery features Bob's Egyptomania collection - http://www.historyextra.com/gallery/egyptomania "The book contains numerous pictures of pieces from the author's collection, some of them highly entertaining. It is this popular fascination with pyramids and Pharaohs that Brier refers to as Egyptomania.... an accessible read." - LSE Review of Books blog , 'The author presents solid information in this publication.... Dr. Brier's examination of ancient Egypt is brought to the readers through the contemporary cultural influence it has on the modern world,especially as the next great discovery or Hollywood sensation is likely to start the flame of passion in future generations and cast them under the spell of Egypt-Omania.' - The Egyptians blog 'Starting from the Roman infatuation with Cleopatra to Napoleon's desire to document everything about the exotic land to Hollywood blockbusters..., Brier chronicles centuries of Egyptomania in an accessible, entertaining narrative that never becomes too dry for a reader to follow. Obelisk-envy, international politics, psychology and the mania generated by the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb all appear, broken into readable chunks by amusing subheadings and illustrations. It's enjoyable and informative - everything one could want from a history book. 9/10.' - Press Association BBC History magazine gallery features Bob's Egyptomania collection - http://www.historyextra.com/gallery/egyptomania "The book contains numerous pictures of pieces from the author's collection, some of them highly entertaining. It is this popular fascination with pyramids and Pharaohs that Brier refers to as Egyptomania.... an accessible read.' - LSE Review of Books blog
