Provides a comprehensive discussion of the key themes in Egyptian history over 3000 years, from the time before the Pharoahs to the era of the Ptolomies. The text includes cutaway illustrations of the temple of Karnak and the Great Pyramid and previously unpublished photographs of important sites such as the tomb of King Ay and the desert burial at Naqada. The contributors include: Dr James P. Allen of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Dr Christopher Eyre of the University of Liverpool; Professor Fekri Hassan and Dr Ian Shaw of University College, London; and Dr Zahi Hawass, Director-General of the Giza pyramids and Saqqena and responsible for finding the new pyramid at Giza.