Book Review: The Good Kings by Kara Cooney

November 2, 2021

About:

The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World by Kara Cooney compares the ruling styles of ancient Pharaohs to today’s tactics of the ruling class. Ms. Cooney is an Egyptologist and processor in UCLA.

  • 400 pages
  • Publisher ‏ : National Geographic
  • Language ‏ : English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : 1426221967

Book Review: The Good Kings by Kara Cooney
My rating for The Good Kings4

Buy The Good Kings from Amazon.com*
More Books by Kara Cooney*

Thoughts:

This book was a surprising find, unlike any other National Geographic books I’ve read before. Ms. Cooney looks five Pharaohs (Khufu, Senwosret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa), analyzes their ruling style, and draws relations to today’s leaders.

I do have to give Kara Cooney credit, The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World is certainly a gutsy book. While I’m sure she held back, her political persuasions certainly come through, her comparisons somewhat disturbing.

The author takes a look at Egyptian history in a critical eye, without the celebrity-style fawning we, or at least I, are used to reading. Life was hard, the rulers weren’t benevolent, the huge monuments took their toll in blood and treasure, the propaganda was so effective it lasts to this day.

This book could be looked at as a warning, when the world is moving more and more towards strongmen authoritarian regimes. Even in countries where these candidates lose elections, it seems only by a hair.

I was looking forward to reading about Ramses II. Of course, he’s one of the most famous Pharaohs we’ve all heard about.. every year in Passover. Even though I have read that the biblical Moses might be based on Akenhaten, we’ll probably never know.

The last chapter attempts to pull it all together. The author analyzes how systems of absolute power traps its citizens to make them believe they work in their best interests. That the monarchs know better because they are either appointed by the gods, or talk directly through them. These people don’t have to be rulers. Religious leaders, for example, use similar tactics.

This book made me think, and I agree with the author that we have much to learn from past history. I enjoyed the author’s analysis, but I am not informed enough about Egyptology to argue neither here nor there. The narrative is not a lecture, but written in a conversational tone of a professor who is informed and entertaining.

Buy The Good Kings from Amazon.com*
More Books by Kara Cooney*

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer:I got this book for free from TLC Book Tours
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account

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Summary
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The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World by Kara Cooney
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The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World by Kara Cooney

Wrap Up

The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World by Kara Cooney

The Good Kings Absolute Power In Ancient Egypt And The Modern World By Kara Cooney

7 Comments

  • 597ad849e1ced94bed7b703cd2a5a0ed
    Nate DJanuary 5, 2022 at 3:33 pm

    Any comment on the VERY EASILY proven false claim that Kyle R shot and killed 2 black people?

    • 86c0a0f97ec725b64c693cd9b30e3aa1
      Man of la BookJanuary 6, 2022 at 10:02 am

      The book was written before the trial, nevertheless it should not have been included

      • 45de911758ef2c57af49783f9375786e
        LizaJanuary 6, 2022 at 11:24 am

        The fact that the people shot were not black was a well known fact prior to the trial, so there is no excuse for this error.

  • 0a0c9329be410410dd2df3719b569e74
    Casey L CulbersonJanuary 6, 2022 at 4:04 am

    This book is just a bunch of words just to say “orange man bad”. The most blatant lie in the book was in her last chapter where she claims Kyle Rittenhouse killed two black men. Grounds for a lawsuit I’m sure.

    • 86c0a0f97ec725b64c693cd9b30e3aa1
      Man of la BookJanuary 6, 2022 at 10:00 am

      I agree. There was too much of an agenda in there for what’s supposed to be a history book.

  • F47fdec0061e3ebb7199738884c9b845
    MirandaJanuary 6, 2022 at 11:00 pm

    Well this book should go straight in the trash. How can an author be so pathetically stupid, that she can’t even fact check facts that are INCREDIBLY EASILY VERIFIABLE?

  • 4cbe6b9a1be37ddacee7199fdd398c6a
    Garrett pikeJanuary 7, 2022 at 3:25 am

    This book is factually incorrect, but we all know the ideological author is not concerned with the truth

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