The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World
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3.7 • 11 Ratings
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Written in the tradition of historians like Stacy Schiff and Amanda Foreman who find modern lessons in ancient history, this provocative narrative explores the lives of five remarkable pharaohs who ruled Egypt with absolute power, shining a new light on the country's 3,000-year empire and its meaning today. In a new era when democracies around the world are threatened or crumbling, best-selling author Kara Cooney turns to five ancient Egyptian pharaohs--Khufu, Senwosret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa--to understand why many so often give up power to the few, and what it can mean for our future. As the first centralized political power on earth, the pharaohs and their process of divine kingship can tell us a lot about the world's politics, past and present. Every animal-headed god, every monumental temple, every pyramid, every tomb, offers extraordinary insight into a culture that combined deeply held religious beliefs with uniquely human schemes to justify a system in which one ruled over many. From Khufu, the man who built the Great Pyramid at Giza as testament to his authoritarian reign, and Taharqa, the last true pharaoh who worked to make Egypt great again, we discover a clear lens into understanding how power was earned, controlled, and manipulated in ancient times. And in mining the past, Cooney uncovers the reason why societies have so willingly chosen a dictator over democracy, time and time again.
Customer Reviews
Not a traditional historical telling of ancient Egypt, but still a good read.
The author of this book definitely has a perspective about patriarchal society, and uses comparisons between ancient Egyptian kingships and current regimes across the globe. The ties between the two are essentially the meat of the book. The history of kings throughout the 20 or so dynasties is Interesting and described in fascinating detail with nuance I’ve not heard or considered, but it’s given in the context of the afore mentioned patriarchy. Though I was expecting a more traditional historical telling of ancient Egypt, I still think this was a pretty good read.
Super informative book from an expert on the subject
From what I can tell the negative reviews stem from a disagreement with the authors view that evidence for matriarchal societies doesn’t exist in the geologic/historic record. However the author’s view on this is correct. She has explained elsewhere that while it’s possible to find cultures that have nearly or completely achieved equality between women and men there is no evidence for any society’s where women have been systemically valued over men. (Matriarchal) The people saying she’s biased believe that the historic record shows matriarchal society’s in the past where a class of women ruled over men.(something that as of our current understanding did not exist) Calling her anti-feminist is not accurate. she hopes for full equality between men and women. (A core feminist view) She just doesn’t let her hope for that bias her interpretation of the historical evidence. Any one should think twice about compromising the evidence as the author has because this could actually hurt women rights by giving opponents the evidence to discredit the whole argument based on that one element of misinformation. We should all strive towards women having equal rights but we need to use the evidence we have. NOT MAKE UP THE EVIDENCE WE WANT.
Well written and needed
This book is an interesting and eye opening comparison between ancient absolute patriarchal power and modern day absolute patriarchal power, and she tells you that pretty much from the start. It seems some readers were surprised by her statements and observations, but considering she is a professor of Egyptology at UCLA, I think she might have some ideas worth sharing.
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