The Old Kingdom pharaohs believed that death was the beginning of eternal life. That they would rise from their tombs to shimmer in the deep blue night as an un-setting star. Or that they would sail endlessly across the watery heavens in the shining boat of the sun god, Re. To help them on their way they built pyramids: huge ramps or stairways charged with the most potent magic, leading directly to the sky. These massive monuments came to symbolize the might of a powerful nation ruled by a semi-divine god-King

The first pyramid, the Step Pyramid built for King Djoser, appeared early in Egyptian history. But it did not spring out  of a technological void. To understand the skills and beliefs of the earliest pyramid builders we must look backwards to the period before Egypt was a united land. In this book the pyramids are set into their historical, even pre-historical, context. By tracing the pyramid building society back to its roots, we see not only how and why the Egyptians were able to build their pyramids, but how the pyramids helped to build Egypt herself.

 
Joyce Tyldesley is one of the most renowned Egyptologists the world has, and her incredible books on Nefertiti and Hatchepsut cut through all the bullshit and dealt with scientific facts. I'm really hoping this book will do the same thing for the Pyramids. My pet peeve about current Egyptian literature is how it's been taken over by crackpot revisionist 'historians', like Graham Hancock and his partner in crime Robert Bauval. It annoys me that they get so much press for their ridiculous theories, when genius archaeologists like Zahi Hawas and Mark Lehner who are doing revolutionary work on the Giza Plateau site barely get a look in, other than to refute absurd claims. Anyway, I'm thoroughly looking forward to reading this book, as it's been a while since I found a really good book on my favourite historical subject.