ALPHABETICAL BRAIN® VOCABULARY HUMANIST GALAXY OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS KARA COONEY October 29, 2022 WHEN WOMEN RULED THE WORLD: Six Queens of Egypt by Kara Cooney National Geographic, 2018 (399 pages with 6 color plates) Quote = "Celebrated Egyptologist Kara Cooney delivers a fascinating tale of female power in history. She explores the reasons why female leadership has seldom been allowed through the ages and why we should care. The book explores the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs who ruled with real power: Merneith, Neferusobek, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Tawosret, and Cleopatra." (Paraphrased by webmaster from publisher's blurb) Quote = "Female rulers have been a rare phenomenon in human history. But thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, a few women reigned supreme. Queens like Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra, took positions of real power instead of being mere political pawns in a male-dominated society. What was it about these women that allowed them to transcend patriarchal obstacles? Could we benefit today from their example and include more females in leadership roles in government and industry?" (Paraphrased by webmaster from publisher's blurb) BOOK OUTLINE Note = Numbers in parentheses refer to pages ANCIENT EGYPT CHRONOLOGY (6) INTRODUCTION — Why women don't rule the world (9-21) 1) MERNEITH — Queen of blood (23-58) 2) NEFERUSOBEK — The last woman standing (59-98) 3) HATSHEPSUT — Queen of public relations (99-159) 4) NEFERTITI — More than just a pretty face (161-207) 5) TAWOSRET — The survivor (209-251) 6) CLEOPATRA — Drama queen (253-310) EPILOGUE — Why women should rule the world (311-319) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (321-325) NOTES (327-375) FURTHER READING AND ESSENTIAL RESOURCES (376-390) INDEX (391-399) AUTHOR NOTES, SUMMARY, AND BOOK DESCRIPTION AUTHOR NOTES = Kara Cooney is a professor of Egyptology at UCLA. Her academic work focuses on death preparations, afterlife beliefs, and gender studies. She has participated in digs with the Metropolitan Museum of New York at the Royal Pyramid complex of Senwosret III and the Theban Necropolis with Johns Hopkins University. She appeared as a lead expert in the popular Discovery Channel special The Secrets of Egypt's Lost Queen, and is a recurring team member of the History Channel's Digging for the Truth. Her first book, The Woman Who Would be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt. was published in 2014. SUMMARY = Celebrated Egyptologist Kara Cooney presents a fascinating tale of female power. She explores the reasons why it has seldom been allowed through the ages, and why we should care. The book shines a piercing light on our perceptions of women in power today. It explores the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs who ruled with real power: Merneith, Neferusobek, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Tawosret, and Cleopatra." BOOK DESCRIPTION = Female rulers are a rare phenomenon — but thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, a few women reigned supreme. What was so special about ancient Egypt that provided women this kind of access to the highest political office? What was it about these women that allowed them to transcend patriarchal obstacles? What did Ancient Egypt gain from its liberal reliance on female leadership? Could today's political leader's learn from this example? Regularly, repeatedly, and with impunity, queens like Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra controlled the totalitarian state as power-brokers and rulers. But throughout human history, women in positions of power were more often used as political pawns in a male-dominated society. This riveting narrative shines a piercing light on our own perceptions of women in power today. EDITORIAL REVIEWS SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW = In ancient Egypt, where authoritarian god kings dominated, a few women rose to positions of political power. Cooney traces the history of six women who ruled one of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world, from Merneith, a mysterious and little-known first dynasty queen, to more familiar figures like Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra VII. Cooney paints an evocative picture of female power in ancient Egypt. Her descriptions of archaeological evidence and her conclusions about these women's lives are fascinating and will appeal to a broad audience, while still remaining grounded in her extensive research. She creates an effective narrative of political machinations, incest, murder, and deception that will intrigue adults and teenagers, especially given the young age of the queens represented. The book condenses a wealth of specific information into a readable, engrossing format. However, the book's attempt to compare female power in ancient Egypt to contemporary politics is less successful. Cooney engages in regressive gender essentialism, arguing about the so-called "biological predispositions" that inform male and female leadership, and the connections she makes between ancient leaders and modern figures such as Hillary Clinton and Angela Merkel lack nuance and context. VERDICT Overall, Cooney's compelling writing about the ancient world outweighs her overly simplistic use of contemporary politics. Recommended for large high school and public library collections that feature ancient history and women's studies titles. – Molly Saunders, Homewood Public Library, AL. PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY REVIEW = Cooney, an Egyptologist at UCLA, profiles six women who rose to power in ancient Egypt. The women most closely connected to the king played a central role and could, when circumstances demanded, become kings themselves. Some of the names (like Nefertiti and Cleopatra) are familiar. Thankfully, this book breaks from trends in studies of ancient Egypt by not focusing exclusively on death rites and funerary architecture. Cooney discusses women's leadership in Ancient Egypt (Merneith and Neferusobek selflessly took up authority only to mitigate disaster, but the power-hungry Hatshepsut was the only one who managed to transcend the crisis she had inherited and leave Egypt in better shape). Cooney speculates about what they must have experienced, including the habits and perspectives of the elite. Early in her life, Nefertiti was "exposed to ancient Egyptian submission to authoritarian rule. She knew when to keep her mouth shut." (Slightly paraphrased by webmaster from Publisher's Weekly Review). Attempting to draw parallels between the pharaohs and contemporary rock stars and politicians, Cooney occasionally asks too much of her narrative. But her stories of these remarkable women, who in flashes displayed "true, successful female power that tapped into the emotions of their people, embraced multiple perspectives, reached out in a spirit of reconciliation to those who had been expelled or cast out," will enchant those wishing to imagine what ancient Egyptian court life may have been like. BOOKLIST REVIEW = Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, and Cleopatra all rank among the most famous rulers of ancient Egypt, but in their own times and places, they were oddities, since Egypt rarely turned to female leadership. In this group biography, Egyptologist Cooney, the author of a previous biography of Hatshepsut (The Woman Who Would Be King, 2015), explores both why female pharaohs were rare and why they occurred at all. She illuminates the role of women in Egyptian governance by presenting the big three alongside the lesser-known female pharaohs, Merneith, Neferusobek, and Tawosret. All six women left relatively clear records (by traditional standards) of their lives and reigns, allowing Cooney to position them within the 3,000-year sweep of ancient Egyptian history. Emphasizing the shared strands in their stories, she argues that they embodied a distinctively female approach to rulership that was valued for its emphasis on stability and consensus in troubled times and uniquely suited to wealthy, conservative Egyptian society. Although Cooney occasionally flirts with gender essentialism, this book shines as an introduction to ancient Egyptian society and beliefs centered around elite women's experiences. – Sara Jorgensen. LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW = Cooney (Egyptology, Univ. of California Los Angeles; The Woman Who Would Be King) explores the premise that "the ancient Egyptians brilliantly used female power to keep a culture going for more than 3,000 years" through the prism of six queens who assumed kingship to varying degrees at times of dynastic crisis. Included are profiles of Merneith of Dynasty I (3000-2890 BCE), Neferusobek of Dynasty XII (1985-1773 BCE), Hatshepsut and Nefertiti of Dynasty XVIII (1550-1295 BCE), Tawosret of Dynsty XIX (1295-1186 BCE), and Cleopatra VII of the Ptolemaic Period (305-30 BCE). Despite ancient Egyptian society promoting greater gender equality than its contemporaries, each of these queens was compelled to manifest certain masculine trappings in order to succeed. Most intriguing is the author's persuasive explanation of the recent theory that Nefertiti morphed from queen to co-king, and ultimately sole king, evinced through changes in her titles and iconography. VERDICT Not since Leonard Cottrell's Lady of the Two Lands (1966) has such an engrossing, well-researched collective study of Egyptian power queens been available. Definitively recommended for anyone with an interest in ancient Egyptian civilization or women's studies. – Edward K. Werner, formerly with St. Lucie City. Libary System, FL. AMAZON READER REVIEWS [1] K. A. Sanders - Too much conjecture! = Like a bad History Channel show, this book panders to the sensationalist, tabloid mindset audience. Prof Cooney is far too fond of conspiracies within the royal court and hyping the role of the harem as sexual stimulation for the king. She constantly presents her conjectures as established facts. While it is almost impossible to know the thoughts and mindset of people so far removed from the present, Prof Cooney repeatedly makes statements about what these ancient people thought. For example, she refers to the early Dynastic era court of Merneith as "bloodthirsty", and claims that royal males were sacrificed after the new Pharaoh was chosen - despite no concrete proof whatsoever that any of the male human sacrifices were of royal blood. It would take far too long to list all the items in this book that hit the wrong note with me - and there were quite a lot of them! - but I feel a need to mention a few of the more egregious. The reign of Hatshepsut and the Amarna Period are my own areas of special interest, and therefore rang the most false. That a ruler as evidently competent as Hatshepsut had to "buy off" the officials of the court and temple in order to remain in power is frankly insulting. And claiming that she was "lost to cultural memory" when girls of later generations were named Maatkare - her kingly throne name, NOT her personal name - overlooks the evidence to the contrary. Thutmose IV - the grandson of Thutmose III, who destroyed many of her monuments - held her in such high regard that he added his own name to an offering bowl she had dedicated where there was room, instead of removing hers, even adding the respectful title of Osiris to her name. [2] burlgirl - Should be called When Women Ruled Egypt = This book was disappointing. I had pre-ordered on Amazon because I enjoyed Kara Cooney's book on Hatshepsut and I was hoping there would a lengthy description on Nefertiti with all of the current research on her. Additionally, I loved the episodes when she was on the podcast, Eric's Guide to Ancient Egypt. Positives: I knew next to nothing of Merneith or Neferusobek, and now I find that I need to learn more, what little there is to learn. Even Tawoseret. I am looking forward to digging into the footnotes and ordering some of the works there. Cleopatra got a little boring, but I actually enjoyed Cooney's interpretation of her life as Pharaoh. I never realized before how much the Roman version of history had colored my thinking. Negatives: I hate the "perhaps, could have, might be" type of fill-ins in non-fiction books. I know that a certain amount is necessary but I felt that there was to much in this book. I understand that the book was a feminist view of Egyptian rule, but it just seemed that Cooney went overboard and started man-bashing. She objects to patriarchy, but criticized too much "typical male ways" of thinking and ruling that are not as good as female ways. RECOMMENDED BY WEBMASTER: You can re-read this summary according to a reinforcement schedule, such as a few hours later and a few days later and then several times in the next week or two. This strategy can help you take advantage of the power of the spaced-repetition method of memorization. Such deep introspection can strengthen your willpower and change your adaptive self-identity to increase your self-esteem. REMEMBER ALWAYS: You are your adaptable memory! Click or Tap Star to: RETURN TO THE HUMANIST HUB OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS ALPHABETICAL BRAIN® VOCABULARY produced by Infinite Interactive Ideas®