The Best Books About Egypt: A Cultural Anthropologist's Picks for History, Fiction, and Culture
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If you loved ancient Egypt as a kid and just couldn’t get enough then, I’ve got more books for you now! As a book nerd, I love directing my guests to amazing readings about Egypt whether fiction or non-fiction. I’ve read all of the following books and put them here because I genuinely think people will enjoy the reads, the information, or the adventure. If you are planning a trip to Egypt, or just got back and were looking for some book recommendations, below I use the typology of “Before” “During” or “After” as recommendations to when you should read them.
Ancient Egypt & Archaeology
Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt’s Temples from Destruction (2023) by Lynne Olson
Read: Before or After
You may already know that my favorite monuments in Egypt are the temples at Abu Simbel, because of being such a feat of engineering in the ancient and modern times. This book is the thrilling true story of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, the woman who helped save Egypt’s temples during the Aswan High Dam project. I cannot recommend it enough because it is part World War Two French Resistance, part intrigue, part perseverance, and part The Mummy film.
Buy on Amazon here: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle, Audible
When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt (2020) by Kara Cooney
READ: Before or After
Many people are so curious as to the Queens of Egypt and to be honest, the archaeological record does them dirty by not having enough about ancient Egypt women’s lives recorded. However, Egyptologist and fellow National Geographic Explorer Kara Cooney is actively working to spotlight the ancient women we know and some that we don’t. This book is usually given out to our National Geographic guests when they come on the Egypt tour and I can’t help but recommend it. The book is a compelling look at Egypt’s powerful female rulers, written for a general audience. It is excellent on audiobook.
Lives of the Ancient Egyptians (2019) by Toby Wilkinson
READ: During
Think of this little but mighty book as your reference for more in-depth information from the founding of the early dynastic period to the end of Egypt’s pharaonic period with Cleopatra. My one wish is that this book would also connect you to the relevant artifacts in Egypt so the reader could have an ‘artifact-ual’ touchstone to solidify the information. (I might do this in a later blog post). This is a fun book for quick briefs (don’t know if I like quick briefs) about the big names that you know and love like Tutankhamun, Ramses II, Imhotep, and Hatshepsut, and will be a great reference when your tour guide throws around names without giving you the spelling.
Buy on Amazon here: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle
Animals of Egypt: Then and Now (2026) by Richard Hoath and Salima Ikram
READ: During
This book *just* came out and I absolutely love it. It’s not just that it is written by my friend and colleague, Salima Ikram. Or that I love discussing animals in modern day. But, because it is such a cool reference book for 62 animals throughout Egypt, and connects them to their long history in Egypt. The book gives a wonderful field guide approach, thanks to co-author and naturalist Richard Hoath’s contribution. Each two-page entry gives one page on the living animal, a description, distribution, habits and habitat, and similar species and notes. The opposite page contains the ancient attestations connecting the name, introduction, practical uses, mythology and iconography, and highlights. It’s a perfect size to slip into a purse or oversized pocket when going on a nature hike in the region.
Buy on Amazon here: Paperback, Kindle
If you are interested in deeper archaeology and Egyptology books, I highly recommend checking AUC Press because they usually have a plethora of great and new Egyptology books every year!
Modern Egypt & Contemporary Culture
The Buried: an archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution (2019) by Peter Hessler
READ: Before
I read this book right before I moved to Egypt and it was literally the best moving guide and preparation for living in Egypt. Peter Hessler is an amazing journalist who typically writes for The New Yorker. While as a China-specialist, he happened to be in Egypt during the revolution and subsequent turmoil, which makes for amazing storytelling about Cairo in one of its most recent transformations.
Buy on Amazon here: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle, Audible
Headscarves & Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution(2015) by Mona El Tahawy
READ: After
This book is captivating, life changing, and also angering. (not sure I like ‘angering’ – ‘makes you angry?) Mona El Tahawy recounts instances of sexual harassment throughout her life in Egypt and abroad, and how the attitudes toward women and their treatment needs to change if the region is to experience a true revolution. I taught portions of this book to my students at the American University in Cairo. The narrative was a shock and a revelation to many Egyptian students, especially the ones
Fiction Set in Egypt
The Yacoubian Building: A Novel(2009) by Alaa Al Aswany
READ: Before or After
I love Alaa Al Aswany and he writes books where you truly get invested in the characters. This book is about intersecting lives inside a fading Art Deco building in downtown Cairo, which you can actually find today! It gives the reader a microcosm of modern Egypt and is very character driven. There is also a film available on YouTube of it (here).
Buy on Amazon here: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle, Audible
If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English: A Novel (2022) by Noor Naga
READ: After
A beautiful novel from Noor Naga, another colleague of mine at the American University in Cairo. Her book follows an Egyptian-American woman exploring identity, class, and Cairo as she tries to find belonging and meaning, while dating an Egyptian man who only communicates in Egyptian Arabic. This book is a telling illustration of the class divide I felt so strongly when I first moved to Cairo, and my Egyptian friends also found it to be a devastatingly good read.
Buy on Amazon here: Paperback, Kindle, Audible
Death on the Nile (1937) by Agatha Christie
READ: Before
This is a classic for anyone going to Egypt. The book follows Hercule Poirot as he tries to solve a murder aboard a Nile cruise. Most fans of Christie know this is probably her most famous, but not necessarily her best murder mystery. It’s still a fun read. This was famously written in the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan that is still a place you can visit. If you are there between lunch and dinner and it isn’t very busy, you can ask nicely to be shown the Agatha Christie suite if it is just a few people. Most guides will tell you the 1978 film is a better version with Angela Lansbury and Maggie Smith than the most recent iteration in 2022.
The Cairo Trilogy (Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, & Sugar Street) by Naguib Mafouz
READ: After
Mahfouz won the 1988 Nobel Prize for literature for the Cairo Trilogy, which follows a multi-generational family from WW2 into the 1950s, exploring social change and traditions in Cairo. I’ll be honest, these ones were not my favorites, but Naguib Mafouz is a massive Cairo touchstone for modern life in Egypt.
Buy on Amazon here: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle, Audible
Shubeik Lubeik (2023) by Deena Mohamed
READ: After
If you didn’t think you were into graphic novels, by the end of this book, you will be. Deena Mohamed’s amazing illustrations and storytelling takes you to an alternate Cairo, where wishes are bought, sold, and regulated by the government. What happens when you buy a second or even third-rate wish? What if you have the chance to change something big with a first-class wish. It’s thoughtful and visually stunning, and you read it right to left.
Buy on Amazon here: Hardback, Kindle
Women Travelers & Egypt
View from the Nile (1970) by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea
READ: Before or After
This was another book that prepped me for living in Egypt. BJ, as she was known, goes to Egypt with her husband Robert, an anthropologist assigned to complete an ethnological survey of the Nubians who were being displaced by the construction of the High Aswan Dam. She takes her kids and has a child in Egypt. It focuses on an Egypt that was changing significantly with the construction of the dam.
Buy on Amazon here: Hardback
Daughter of Egypt: A Novel (2026) by Marie Benedict
READ: Before
My mom and I are huge fans of Marie Benedict, and this book is a perfect blend of a fictional, but well researched, past and the present. She blends the retelling of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb through the eyes of Lord Carnarvon’s daughter Lady Evelyn, and Hatshepsut, the woman who made herself pharaoh.
Buy on Amazon here: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle, Audible
What to Pack on Your Kindle
READ: Before or During
What the River Knows(2023) by IsabelIbanez
If you are looking for a fun adventure meets a bit of magic on the Nile, follow Inez Olivera as she goes to Egypt to find her missing parents in 19th century Egypt. It’s currently the start of a series of books known as the Secrets of the Nile series. I devoured this while on tour with my guests and enjoyed seeing the Philae temple in a new light.
Buy on Amazon here first book: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle, Audible
Mummy (2000) by Caroline B. Cooney
READ: After
If you are a millennial like me, you probably remember binge reading The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney. This book came out about the same time as the cinematic class The Mummy and became another epic teenage thriller for fans of the author. The story follows a teenager who plans to steal a mummy as a prank, but things go awry when they steal the mummy, and she has to make choices about who her friends are.
If you liked this list, feel free to friend me on Goodreads.
I also keep a growing bookshelf on Goodreads call “All Things Egypt.”You can keep up with what I’m reading and feel free to share your favorite books about or set in Egypt in the comments!