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Title: Dated, but still a classic
Review: As a graduate student in Egyptology/Egyptian archaeology, I have a slightly different perspective on this book than some people. As other reviewers have noted, the text is a bit dated, having been written a few decades ago. However, the basic facts are still solid and Mertz writes so well and brings so much of ancient Egyptian history to life that a few inaccuracies can be excused, especially as one hopes that so well-written a text will encourage people to go on to do more research.Mertz also manages to capture and discuss, though not in detail, a bit of what it is like to study Egyptology professionally in a few humorous off-the-cuff remarks in the texts. If memory serves, she compares demotic to a series of frenetic commas. :)In short, this is a book I re-read on occasion, even as a professional, not for any particular research needs, but more to remind myself what my own writing *could* be and, sometimes, to remind myself why I decided to do this for a living.
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