The Surprising History of Egypt

Terry Jones co-wrote and narrated two documentaries on the lives of the average person in the ancient world--one about life in Rome and this one about Egypt. Of the two, I think I like the Egyptian episode just a bit more and he made a surprisingly compelling argument that life in ancient Egypt was actually pretty good and not much different than life there today for the average citizen. Some things that might surprise you is how good a job it would be working on the pyramids (this was NOT done by slave labor but by well-paid craftsmen), how Egyptian homes are much like they were thousands of years ago and how the average Egyptian ate and drank.

As with all of Terry Jones' other documentaries, this one is fascinating, thought-provoking and fun. It's ample proof that history does NOT need to be boring and that history is NOT just about dead kings and important battles--it's also about the people and how they lived. Excellent in every way and a show your kids will probably like as well.