New paperback edition - How the invention of paper, a material prized by both scholars and kings, allowed information and ideas to shape humanity for 4000 years, from the Nile to the West. 'A wonderful, enlightening book.' (Alexander McCall Smith).

For our entire history, humans have always searched for new ways to share information. This innate compulsion led to the origin of writing on the rock walls of caves and coffin lids or carving on tablets. But it was with the advent of papyrus paper when the ability to record and transmit information exploded, allowing for an exchanging of ideas from the banks of the Nile throughout the Mediterranean—and the civilized world—for the first time in human history.In The Pharaoh’s Treasure, John Gaudet looks at this pivotal transition to papyrus paper, which would become the most commonly used information medium in the world for more than 4,000 years. Far from fragile, papyrus paper is an especially durable writing surface; papyrus books and documents in ancient and medieval times had a usable life of hundreds of years, and this durability has allowed items like the famous Nag Hammadi codices from the third and fourth century to survive.

"A celebration of the greatest art and monuments of ancient Egypt through a collection of colour photographs, including wall paintings, sculpture, jewelry, and mummies"--Cover.

Known to the Egyptians as The Sceptre, Thebes was Egypt's most magnificent and sacred city for a thousand years. This book presents, in stunning photographs, a vivid picture of this great city and its treasures-from its origins as a strategic provincial town to its pinnacle in the New Kingdom as the seat of Egypt's empire.

"A guide to an exhibition of some of the artifacts found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, discussing the life and death of the young king, daily life in ancient Egypt, and ancient Egyptian religion and funerary practices." --

Travel back in time more than a thousand years to visit the world of the Vikings. Board a longship to go on a voyage of exploration, and see the weapons and armor used by a mighty warrior. Discover mythical tales of magic, monsters, gods, and goddesses. Learn about mysterious picture stones, how the Vikings honored their dead, and how they traveled to the ends of the known world. Dozens of ancient Viking treasures are depicted in detailed full-color illustrations accompanied by fascinating facts about their use, lore, and history. DOZENS OF ARTIFACTS: Learn about 36 iconic objects, from a Viking warrior’s axe to a longship that sailed the high seas. BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED: Vibrant, detailed images of the art, objects, people, and icons of the Viking world. FASCINATING FACTS: Includes hundreds of amazing facts about Viking treasures in an easy-to-read Layout that will enthrall budding historians of all ages. CLASSROOM TO COFFEE TABLE: This beautiful volume is equally at home on a school bookshelf to support student learning as in a living room to be enjoyed by the whole family. COLLECT THE SERIES: More fascinating compendiums for all ages include The Magnificent Book of Treasures: Ancient Egypt, The Magnificent Book of Treasures: Ancient Rome, The Magnificent Book of Horses, The Magnificent Book of Extinct Animals, and more!

The first book in the Treasures of the Nile series Anippe has grown up in the shadows of Egypt’s good god Pharaoh, aware that Anubis, god of the afterlife, may take her--or her siblings--at any moment. She watched him snatch her mother and infant brother during childbirth, a moment which awakens in her a terrible dread of ever bearing a child. When she learns that she is to be become the bride of Sebak, a kind but quick-tempered Captain of Pharaoh Tut’s army, Anippe launches a series of deceptions with the help of the Hebrew midwives—women ordered by Tut to drown the sons of their own people in the Nile—in order to provide Sebak the heir he deserves and yet protect herself from the underworld gods. When she finds a baby floating in a basket on the great river, Anippe believes Egypt’s gods have answered her pleas, entrenching her more deeply in deception and placing her and her son Mehy, whom handmaiden Miriam calls Moses, in mortal danger. As bloodshed and savage politics shift the balance of power in Egypt, the gods reveal their fickle natures and Anippe wonders if her son, a boy of Hebrew blood, could one day become king. Or does the god of her Hebrew servants, the one they call El Shaddai, have a different plan for them all?