An oddity - a standard book on Ancient Egyptian history that is as enjoyable as it is informative. Rice's book is driven by a deep sense of wonder as well as profound respect and affection for Ancient Egypt, the forces that shaped it, and the people who created it. The accounting of the events never bogs the reader down in seas of facts yet the book is quite detailed. Rice does not avoid or downplay those pesky archaeological outliers that bedevil egyptologists. Rather, he points them out and gently explains that, while remaining unexplained, they are probably not as sensational as some claim. He does, however, rightly indicate that the recognition of the astronomical preocupations of the Ancient Egyptians was long in coming. On the whole, this is an excellent work from which anyone interested in Egypt will profit. ( )