The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt

Well written but still from a modern feminist thing and calling kemet a western power still wrong but they do that to make it white even if it’s tanned white people . Easily forgotten is the real mix breed African Hebrews said mizraim ( Egypt) are the sons of HAM ! Herodotus tells us the kamau ( people of Kmt) wer the daughter of Ethiopia !! Not greed or Europe or Asia !! The Kamari themselves say they come from the realm of the mount of the moon were the god Hali dwells !! ( Hali is the Nike. The Nile comes 4,100 miles away from mt Kilimanjaro The South not from the north obviously !! So not a western invention as we know the term and not a western empire and older than the west wants to give it ! They teach Mesopotamia civilization is older which is a lie that they tell because it’s outside of africa !! But the original Elamite were black skin like the Tamil and the Sumerians Sag gig ga. “ call themselves the black heads. Do please don’t be mislead by this otherwise well written book. The feminist aspect is also overstated a great queen yes but it was outside the cultural parameters think a worker bee takes or the queen bee throne of the hive it’s a fluke and the later queen bee’s will probably try to forget it ever happened lol just like they did in kemet with the queen. She did have a lover ( she was human) but I forget his name and she did not have to use sex to get power as the author rightfully states but overly so Ten thousand yrs not three thousand. Was Kmt life time. And yes after a while the north became very mulatto perfect example of why mixing with them does not benefit us in the long time. They are natural usurper these children of Loki and they always have been so Read book with these precautions non Africoids will not accept this because they have been taught white did everything worthy in the past because they are in power now but that too is not the truth so my people read this with caution and don’t be swept away by their typical dexterity with the printed word.

You will love this book. Kara Cooney unabashedly admits that one path of thinking about Hatshepsut's life cannot be positively ascertained from the archaeological record. So, she is unafraid to say THIS may have been the motivation behind her actions or THAT, the complete opposite, may have come into play. It’s refreshing to not be told what to think. She does also present her own educated deductions, with the reasons behind her stance. It was also fascinating to be presented with glimpses into the daily of the Egyptian people. I have to admit I skipped the pages medically detailing how the mummies were prepared.

I am loving this book! From the very beginning, Kara Cooney makes it clear that a lot of the material is going to be based on educated guesses (i.e. what other reviewers here called "speculation"), but every speculation is supported by reflections on the documentation, informed analysis, and, yes, insights into human nature. The book reads like a novel. I am learning a whole lot about a powerful woman who learned to work within a system that did not recognize women as legitimate rulers, who was cautious in how she proceeded in her ascent to power, and who was not shy about manipulating her public presentation. And I am enjoying it tremendously.The only drawbacks I see in the book are these: First, the format of footnotes is a bit annoying. The commentary notes and the reference notes are done in the same format, so every I come across a footnote (done in the endnote format), I flip to the endnotes section to find out more. Sometimes, there is just the source reference. As I am not a historian, I am not particularly interested in which precisely source each particular bit of information comes from, although, of course, I appreciate that the information is sourced. At other times, however, there is a useful additional bit of information that contributes and complements the main text, such as reference to the existing debates, extensions of information etc. I wish the informational notes and source notes were done in different formats.Second, Dr. Cooney often refers to images and architecture, but directs the reader to other sources for the images. There is only one chapter where photos of the sculptures, obelisks, and the temple are included. It would have been a lot more informative to include those images throughout the book. For example, in the chapter relating to the officials Hatshepsut worked with, including one of the most prominent and important figures in her reign, Senenmut, there are references to his sculptures depicting his relationship with the royal daughter, Neferure. Yet the images of the sculptures do not appear until a different place in the text.But overall, the book is informative and captivating.

Love Kara Cooney’s work. What an incredible reign for Hatshepsut. Amazing what she had to go through to maintain power.

The first thing I will say is that the reviewer who claims it is an easy read is either untruthful, or an Egyptologist. It is fine - if for example you are familiar with the five fold titulary of Egyptian pharoahs.The ancient Egyptians were very reticent about what went on in the halls of power, and that is the greatest problem in writing a book of this sort. Cooney is an experienced Egyptologist, and seems to have read most or all of the pertinent Egyptian documents. I gather that she actually teaches late Egyptian at UCLA. That gives her definite authority, and even allows her to suggest occasionally that absence of evidence IS evidence of absence.The book is the best exposition of Hatshepsut's accomplishments that I have read, and those accomplishments were great indeed.Her relationship with Thutmose III, the great conqueror, doesn't emerge well. But really, how could it?The book appears to have been written just before Hatshesut's mummy was discovered. I do hope that Cooney will update the book with some discussion (unless I missed something); it appears that the great lady died unpleasantly.Cooney tries to be a feminist, but she is first and last a professional Egyptologist and that is where her loyalties lie.

As an ancient history fanatic I quite enjoyed reading this book as its well written, by an author that has a brilliant background on the subject. At least to me it opened up the world of 1500 BC Egypt. And I learned a lot about the period and the status and cult of pharaoh’s.Yet I rank it with 3 stars only: While the period and practices are richly described, most is told in a narrative manner. I can see how this could work. But not for me as it starts to touch upon fiction. And I try to avoid historic fiction as it always raises endless questions and objections in my mind while reading - which is very annoying. In particular if it’s about more distant historic settings from more than a few hundred years ago. It’s almost impossible to recreate an inner self from so long ago without projecting modern human’s experience, feelings and values. So this leaves the narrative with a lot of conjecture, also because, as the author acknowledges, there is very little known about individuals from this era apart from the very dry official historic inscriptions. Now if the storyline was extremely compelling perhaps the approach would have been justified, but no. The historic context, although unusual, just doesn’t strike a big enough chord. So its not an Wolfhall or I Claudius.

Well written and captivating book.

O livro relata sequencialmente os pormenores conhecidos sobre a vida de Hatshepsut, ao mesmo tempo em que especula sobre como teriam sido os aspectos sobre os quais não há registro formal, como decisões, dificuldades e sentimentos dos indivíduos participantes dessa história, mas sempre referenciando minuciosamente os estudos e os indícios disponíveis para essas interpretações. Uma rica compilação de informações traz à vida a mulher que alcançou, e manteve com sucesso, a mais alta posição de poder essencialmente masculina do Egito Antigo.

I picked it up to look at it, started reading a few pages, and before I knew it, I couldn't put down. Highly recommend.