Egypt looms large in the popular imagination, conjuring images of pyramids, pharaohs, tomb raiders, vast deserts, and the world’s longest river, the Nile. Yet its true allure might lie in its impressively long history and what it tells us about the human condition.

Author Maria Golia draws on extensive historical research and decades of experience living and working in Egypt to offer fresh, nuanced, and insightful perspectives on one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Golia deftly traces Egypt’s trajectory from Neolithic times to the Arab Spring and up to the present day, and in doing so illuminates the environmental, temporal, and cultural forces that have shaped it. Just like the ancients, we’re preoccupied with life’s brevity and how to prolong its pleasures and reduce its pains. In many ways, Egypt is a case study in how people endure.

Written with wit, clarity, and a contemporary beat, this is a wild and intoxicating ride through Egypt’s history.

The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.