The extraordinary history of Ancient Egyptian civilization - from its earliest origins to the creation of its greatest monument - from specialist John Romer

This exceptional book draws on a lifetime of research and thought to recreate the previously untold story of how a civilization which began with handfuls of semi-itinerant fishermen settled, spread and created a rich, vivid, strange civilization that had its first culmination in the pharaoh Khufu building the Great Pyramid.

The book immerses the reader in the fascinating world of archaeological evidence, the process by which this long vanished world has gradually re-emerged and the rapidly changing interpretations which these breathtaking but entirely enigmatic remains have been subjected to. Whether he is writing about the smallest necklace bead or the most elaborate royal tomb, John Romer conveys to the reader a remarkable sense of how to understand a people so like ourselves and yet in so many ways eerily different.

John Romer has been working in Egypt since 1966 in key archaeological sites, including Karnak and Medinet Habu. He initiated conservation studies in the Valley of the Kings and led the Brooklyn Museum expedition to excavate the tomb of Ramesses XI. He has written and presented a number of television series, including Romer's Egypt, Ancient Lives, Testament and Byzantium. His major books include The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt Revisited and Valley of the Kings. He lives in Italy.