Everyday life in the Egypt of the Pharaohs
What do we really know about our ancestors? Not about the rulers and generals, but about labourers, farmers, soldiers and families. Egypt is a perfect case in point, almost a blank slate for most of us as regards details of their everyday life. This useful and informative book attempts to set the record straight by offering a distinctive take on that most mythologised of epochs.
Who would have guessed for example that the first strike in recorded history took place in 1152 BC during work on the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings, a protest by construction workers against delayed deliveries of oil and flour. Two fairly banal commodities maybe, but essential: Oil protected the skin against the savage desert climate, whilst flour was the base ingredient for thirty different kinds of nutritional cake.
It is this detailed examination of the evidence that distinguishes this volume, with chapters (all uniquely headed in the corresponding hieroglyphs) on everything from relationships to leisure activities, the role of women to the manufacture of mummies. And just like the mummies, "fragile as eggshell but solid as a statue", magically able to transcend death, so both people and country are brought alive for us again.

Before reaching the tender age of thirty, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) had already sculpted David and Pieta, two of the most famous sculptures in the entire history of art. Like fellow Florentine Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo was a shining star of the Renaissance and a genius of consummate virtuosity. Sculptor, painter, architect, and poet, he brought such an unparalleled passion and unique style to his work that his imitators spawned a movement - Mannerism - in their quest to replicate his special touch. His crown achievement, the breathtaking paintings on the altar wall and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, is seen by millions of visitors each year. Such was his talent that Michelangelo was considered a demigod by his contemporaries and was the subject of two biographies during his lifetime. Adoration of this remarkable man's work has only increased on the intervening centuries. Following the success of our XL title "Leonardo da Vinci", TASCHEN brings you this massive tome that explores Michelangelo's life and work in more depth and detail than ever before. The first part concentrates on the life and work of Michelangelo in text and images; then the main body of the book presents his complete paintings, sculptures, drawings, and architectural plans. Gorgeous, full page reproductions and enlarged details bring readers up close to the works. This is the definitive volume about Michelangelo for generations to come.