The Good Kings
Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World
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Narrated by:
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Kara Cooney
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By:
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Kara Cooney
About this listen
Written in the tradition of historians like Stacy Schiff and Amanda Foreman who find modern lessons in ancient history, this provocative narrative explores the lives of five remarkable pharaohs who ruled Egypt with absolute power, shining a new light on the country's 3,000-year empire and its meaning today.
In a new era when democracies around the world are threatened or crumbling, best-selling author Kara Cooney turns to five ancient Egyptian pharaohs - Khufu, Senwosret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa - to understand why many so often give up power to the few, and what it can mean for our future. As the first centralized political power on earth, the pharaohs and their process of divine kingship can tell us a lot about the world's politics, past and present. Every animal-headed god, every monumental temple, every pyramid, every tomb offers extraordinary insight into a culture that combined deeply held religious beliefs with uniquely human schemes to justify a system in which one ruled over many. From Khufu, the man who built the Great Pyramid at Giza as testament to his authoritarian reign, and Taharqa, the last true pharaoh who worked to make Egypt great again, we discover a clear lens into understanding how power was earned, controlled, and manipulated in ancient times. And in mining the past, Cooney uncovers the reason why societies have so willingly chosen a dictator over democracy, time and time again.
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List of events
- By P. Dolinsky on 04-12-20
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A Brief History of China
- Dynasty, Revolution and Transformation: From the Middle Kingdom to the People's Republic
- By: Jonathan Clements
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In his retelling of a Chinese history stretching back 5,000 years, author and China-expert Jonathan Clements focuses on the human stories which led to the powerful transformations in Chinese society - from the unification of China under its first emperor, Qinshi Huangdi, to the Mongol invasion under Genghis Khan and the consolidation of Communist rule under Mao Zedong. Clements even brings listeners through to the present day, outlining China's economic renaissance under Deng Xiaoping and Xi Jinping.
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Succinct and detailed overview of a huge topic
- By Stephen Sheafer on 08-19-20
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The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt
- By: Toby Wilkinson
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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In this landmark work, one of the world's most renowned Egyptologists tells the epic story of this great civilization, from its birth as the first nation-state to its final absorption into the Roman Empire - 3,000 years of wild drama, bold spectacle, and unforgettable characters. Award-winning scholar Toby Wilkinson captures not only the lavish pomp and artistic grandeur of this land of pyramids and pharaohs but for the first time reveals the constant propaganda and repression that were its foundations.
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Well Written and Detailed
- By Matthew G. on 01-26-18
By: Toby Wilkinson
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The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
- By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert Garland
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
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Tantalizing time trip
- By Mark on 08-21-13
By: Robert Garland, and others
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SPQR
- A History of Ancient Rome
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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In SPQR, world-renowned classicist Mary Beard narrates the unprecedented rise of a civilization that even 2,000 years later still shapes many of our most fundamental assumptions about power, citizenship, responsibility, political violence, empire, luxury, and beauty.
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Shallow and unsatisfying
- By Joe on 02-19-17
By: Mary Beard
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Alaric the Goth
- An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome
- By: Douglas Boin
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Denied citizenship by the Roman Empire, a soldier named Alaric changed history by unleashing a surprise attack on the capital city of an unjust empire. Stigmatized and relegated to the margins of Roman society, the Goths were violent "barbarians" who destroyed "civilization," at least in the conventional story of Rome's collapse. But a slight shift of perspective brings their history, and ours, shockingly alive.
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Can't finish it.
- By Stan K. Smith on 06-21-20
By: Douglas Boin
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Introducing the Ancient Greeks
- From Bronze Age Seafarers to Navigators of the Western Mind
- By: Edith Hall
- Narrated by: Sian Thomas
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Acclaimed classics scholar Edith Hall's Introducing the Ancient Greeks is the first book to offer a synthesis of the entire ancient Greek experience, from the rise of the Mycenaean kingdoms of the sixteenth century BC to the final victory of Christianity over paganism in AD 391. Each of the ten chapters visits a different Greek community at a different moment during the twenty centuries of ancient Greek history.
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Surveying the Greeks
- By Jolene on 05-31-18
By: Edith Hall
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The Woman Who Would Be King
- Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt
- By: Kara Cooney
- Narrated by: Kara Cooney
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Hatshepsut - the daughter of a general who usurped Egypt's throne and a mother with ties to the previous dynasty - was born into a privileged position in the royal household, and she was expected to bear the sons who would legitimize the reign of her father's family. Her failure to produce a male heir was ultimately the twist of fate that paved the way for her improbable rule as a cross-dressing king.
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Overt Agenda
- By Kindle Customer on 04-14-19
By: Kara Cooney
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Pagans
- The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity
- By: James J. O'Donnell
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Pagans explores the rise of Christianity from a surprising and unique viewpoint: that of the people who witnessed their ways of life destroyed by what seemed then a powerful religious cult. These "pagans" were actually pious Greeks, Romans, Syrians, and Gauls, who observed the traditions of their ancestors. To these devout polytheists, Christians who worshiped only one deity were immoral atheists who believed that a splash of water on the deathbed could erase a lifetime of sin.
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19th Century Scholarship
- By Marianne on 10-16-18
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Thebes
- The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece
- By: Paul Cartledge
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Among the extensive writing available about the history of ancient Greece, there is precious little about the city-state of Thebes. At one point the most powerful city in ancient Greece, Thebes has been long overshadowed by its better-known rivals, Athens and Sparta. In Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece, acclaimed classicist and historian Paul Cartledge brings the city vividly to life and argues that it is central to our understanding of the ancient Greeks' achievements - whether politically or culturally.
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Why is this author considered an expert scholar of Ancient Greece?
- By DaneDeer on 11-06-20
By: Paul Cartledge
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Thermopylae
- By: Paul Cartledge
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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In 480 B.C., a huge Persian army, led by the inimitable King Xerxes, entered the mountain pass of Thermopylae to march on Greece, intending to conquer the land with little difficulty. But the Greeks, led by King Leonidas and a small army of Spartans, took the battle to the Persians at Thermopylae and halted their advance: almost. It is one of history's most acclaimed battles, one of civilization's greatest last stands.
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Requires full attention
- By Euryleia on 01-18-08
By: Paul Cartledge
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Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World
- By: Philip Matyszak
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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This thorough guide explores those civilizations that have faded from the pages of our textbooks but played a significant role in the development of modern society. Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World covers the Hyksos to the Hephthalites and everyone in between, providing a unique overview of humanity's history from approximately 3000 BCE-550 CE. Each entry exposes a diverse culture, highlighting their important contributions.
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Gripping and seamless
- By Mike Heim on 05-13-21
By: Philip Matyszak
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Superpower Interrupted
- The Chinese History of the World
- By: Michael Schuman
- Narrated by: Shawn Compton
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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This global history as the Chinese would write it gives brilliant and unconventional insights for understanding China's role in the world, especially the drive to "Make China Great Again." In this colorful, informative story filled with fascinating characters, epic battles, influential thinkers, and decisive moments, we come to understand how the Chinese view their own history and how its narrative is distinctly different from that of Western civilization.
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Nice overview
- By Matthew G. Towner on 08-12-20
By: Michael Schuman
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Ramesses II ruled the Nile Valley and the wider Egyptian empire from 1279 to 1213 B.C., one of the longest reigns in pharaonic history. He was a cultural innovator, a relentless self-promoter, and an astute diplomat—the peace treaty signed after the Battle of Kadesh was the first in recorded history. He outbuilt every other Egyptian pharaoh, leaving behind the temples of Abu Simbel; the great hypostyle hall of Karnak; the tomb for his wife Nefertari; and his own memorial, the Ramesseum.
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Great stuff. Minimal notes.
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Western exceptionalism - the idea that European civilizations are freer, wealthier, and less violent - is a widespread and powerful political idea. It has been a source of peace and prosperity in some societies, and of ethnic cleansing and havoc in others. Yet in The Invention of Power, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita draws on his expertise in political maneuvering, deal-making, and game theory to present a revolutionary new theory of Western exceptionalism: that a single, rarely discussed event in the 12th century changed the course of European and world history.
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Blah, blah, blah.
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Excellent book; performance stumbles
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Ramesses the Great
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Ramesses II ruled the Nile Valley and the wider Egyptian empire from 1279 to 1213 B.C., one of the longest reigns in pharaonic history. He was a cultural innovator, a relentless self-promoter, and an astute diplomat—the peace treaty signed after the Battle of Kadesh was the first in recorded history. He outbuilt every other Egyptian pharaoh, leaving behind the temples of Abu Simbel; the great hypostyle hall of Karnak; the tomb for his wife Nefertari; and his own memorial, the Ramesseum.
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Blah, blah, blah.
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Tutankhamun's Trumpet
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In 1922, after fifteen years of searching, archaeologists finally discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun. There, buried alongside the king's mummy, they found more than 5,000 unique objects, from the mundane to the extravagant, from the precious to the everyday. Tutankhamun's spectacular gold mask is justifiably famous, but the rest of the treasures remain largely unknown, their stories untold.
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The final 25 pages are missing
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The Storm Before the Storm
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The Roman Republic was one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of civilization. After its founding in 509 BCE, the Romans refused to allow a single leader to seize control of the state and grab absolute power. The Roman commitment to cooperative government and peaceful transfers of power was unmatched in the history of the ancient world. But by the year 133 BCE, the republican system was unable to cope with the vast empire Rome now ruled.
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Interesting, albeit a bit dry
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Weavers, Scribes, and Kings
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In this sweeping history of the ancient Near East, Amanda Podany takes listeners on a gripping journey from the creation of the world's first cities to the conquests of Alexander the Great. The book is built around the life stories of many ancient men and women, from kings, priestesses, and merchants to brickmakers, musicians, and weavers. Their habits of daily life, beliefs, triumphs, and crises, and the changes that people faced over time are explored through their own written words and the buildings, cities, and empires in which they lived.
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word of advice
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By: Amanda H. Podany
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Emperor of Rome
- Ruling the Ancient World
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In her international bestseller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius.
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Wasn't sure but won me over
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By: Mary Beard
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Fall of Civilizations
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Across the centuries, we journey from the great empires of Mesopotamia to those of Khmer and Vijayanagara in Asia and Songhai in West Africa; from Byzantium to the Maya, Inca and Aztecs of Central America; from Roman Britain to Rapa Nui. With meticulous research, breathtaking insight and dazzling, empathic storytelling, historian and novelist Paul Cooper evokes the majesty and jeopardy of these ancient civilizations, and asks what it might have felt like for a person alive at the time to witness the end of their world.
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New fave book to tell people about
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Medieval Horizons
- Why the Middle Ages Matter
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We tend to think of the Middle Ages as a dark, backward, and unchanging time characterized by violence, ignorance, and superstition. By contrast, we believe progress arose from science and technological innovation, and that inventions of recent centuries created the modern world. We couldn't be more wrong.
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Altered my perception of History
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What listeners say about The Good Kings
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jennifer Grotpeter
- 02-15-22
Everyone Should Read This!
brilliant take on politics & culture, from ancient kingdoms to modern despots & demagogues, with a note of hope at the end that we might learn our history & not repeat it.
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1 person found this helpful
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- kaimori kazoku
- 07-03-23
Interesting but repetitive
I like the idea of looking at what lenses we are viewing history with and how that definitively colors our assertions as well as how we judge our current day.
That being said I found myself easily being distracted while listening to this book as we are repeatedly told of the evils of the patriarchy. I definitely agree on some points and would love to learn more, but I was feeling brow beaten by the end.
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- Red-Haired Ash
- 12-02-21
interesting and informative
3 stars - I liked it
In this book Cooney discusses five ancient Egyptian pharaohs: Khufu, Senworsret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa. She talks about their reigns and how they ruled. She also discusses the patriarchy and how it influenced these men and continues to influence us today.
After reading Cooney’s previous two books, I was excited to get my hands on this one. I learned a lot about the women rulers of Egypt in the previous books and knew I would learn a lot in this book as well. I did learn a lot about these pharaohs but also about how their authoritarian regime impacted the future and is still impacting it today.
It was fascinating learning the history of these men. They may be praised as great men but that didn’t mean they didn’t do terrible things. One thing I like about Cooney’s writing is that she doesn’t ignore the evidence that some of these men were most likely tyrants, had slaves, and were harsh to their people.
Khufu is the builder of the Great Pyramid but he was a tyrant and there is evidence of that. Senworset III was great at propaganda and used it to establish supremacy over Egypt’s elite, but it quickly fell apart after he died. Akhenaten created a new religion centering around one god that allowed him to control everything in his kingdom. It didn’t last though and had destabilizing effects on that dynasty. Ramses the Great spread his image throughout Egypt and is still widely known today because of it. His reign was long and filled with many wild stories about his reign, some of which are still believed today. Taharqa used religious zeal to unify Egypt and justify his actions as just and moral, even when they weren’t.
She compares these ancient rulers to today's leaders and shows that while we have made some changes, there is still a lot of dismantling that needs to be done of the patriarchy if things will ever get better. Overall, this was interesting and gives a unique look at patriarchy in the past and present.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Stephanie Craig
- 09-10-22
The American political conclusions are already dated
I bought this because I liked her other works, but the heavy-handed American political conclusions are full of false equivocations and are already dated. It makes it hard to trust the political analysis about the Pharaonic rulers when the analysis about modern American politics seems to be stretched and inaccurate in places.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Landon S. Sperry
- 04-19-23
Great read, takes a while to get rolling
Loved the core of this book, but it took me a while to get into.
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- KeeshaH
- 12-14-21
A solid right hook of a book.
Dr. Cooney pulls absolutely no punches with this amazing new book. Well respected in her field Cooney continues to expand her reputation with this no nonsense well researched piece of literature.
However if someone was hoping for a cuddly version of Egypt then they need to head to the fiction section of the library. Dr. Cooney doesn't do cuddly. She seems to know it's not her job to make us all feel better about how the systems THEN are not very different than those we see in play NOW.
She makes no apologies as she lines up some of the greatest leaders of Egypt in a frank and deep look at ancient Egyptian leadership and culture. Her comparisons to our modern day world are right on and deeply revealing. Dr. Cooney strips away the gold and gloss to provide a real and honest look at rulers we have all come to be fascinated with, providing new perspectives through the looking glass of the modern world.
This world has had thousands of books acting as PR for the powerful. This heavy hitter by Dr. Cooney is a welcome change.
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3 people found this helpful
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This is a must read!
Anyone interested in the history of Ancient Egypts Pharaoh's needs this book in their library! She travels back in time and compares much of the Ancient Egyptian Patriarchy to today's leaders. Must read!
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- cory
- 06-22-24
Thoughtful analysis of ancien Egyptian history & it’s potential lessons for our current world
At first this book was difficult to het into/adjust to compared to her earlier book, This one is definitely more of a critical analysis of the Pharaohs and patriarchy as a while. About half-way through I couldn’t put it down and ordered a used hardback copy as well. I feel this book ought to be on the reading list of all sociology, criminology, cultural anthropology and psychology courses. It made mr think of my soc advisor and friend and of recommending it to her. I graduated years ago and she’s retired now but this is a stellar collection of information put forth in a thoughtful and clearly considerate way. The only piece that’s missing is a deeper understanding and evaluation of religion and spirituality. I can tell the author is expanding her knowledge and is a thoughtful, considerate human being. I am curious to read her other works and see if her ideas and thoughts on religion and spirituality are discussed/added. Her approach still seems to not speak to her personal ideas or beliefs—yet as one of her readers by her not declaring what her bias might be religiously speaking, she is potentially separati g herself from a whole spectrum of readership separate. I feel that more than ever we need more wats to come together and for me, this means discussing fair-mindedness and openness to discussing personal spiritual thoughts. My experiences and studies lean more holistically towards bridging science, religion, spirituality—weaving those into the fabric of scientific and critical analysis of culture to gain a deeper awareness of everything that makes it to the fabric of our world life.
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- Daniel Morlan
- 11-19-21
Kara Cooney for Pharaoh! ;)
In all seriousness, this book is a brilliantly reasoned masterpiece that could serve as a basis for a contemporaneous manifesto. As an armchair Egyptologist who knows MUCH more than the average Joe, I've held longstanding concerns voiced by Kara Cooney, who expressed them in exquisite detail and acuteness with this work.
I am shocked that this has not been reviewed more, but Kara is a woman of our time, and THIS is a brilliant book that keeps the reader/listener interested, expresses itself succinctly, and lays the patriarchy bare for the cancerous farce that it is. As human beings we have been programmed our whole lives to see the way things are as the way things should be.
Kara's place in academia is precious, and so is her worldview and insight. This book, if you listen to just ONE in the next twelve months, or pick up to read, has exceptional value culturally and socially. It's entirely relevant and beautifully illuminating. I appreciate what she is doing so much, and hope that this book becomes a cultural cornerstone in what hopefully will be a revolution to help build a better world.
I'm going to check out her podcast this evening because I love this book so much.
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- Setken
- 09-03-22
Looking at Ancient Egypt without the magick
I have spent some time considering what to say in this review because it is not a standard Egyptological treatise in the way that we have come to expect. It certainly made me think of the pharaonic era of Egyptian history in a new way.
The author (who reads the book exceptionally well also, I might add) is a self-described big fan of all things Ancient Egypt and has awoken in recent years to aspects of its history that have been unacknowledged by others in the field or (more to the point) deliberately ignored.
Principally this is the authoritarian rule and everything that went along with that (especially patriarchism in general) over the country’s long history. The author draws numerous and relevant comparisons to the politics of today’s world (mainly the US and other western countries) as she eloquently discusses the lives and reigns of 5 pharaonic era kings.
It is probably the first time this kind of analysis has occurred in Egyptology (it’s certainly the first I have come across) and many good arguments and discussions are made throughout the work, especially when commenting on the behaviour of the politicians ruling as kings in our current era.
To be honest, there is not a lot of what Dr. Kooney has to say that I disagree with: she is clearly an erudite academic, and, I would venture, an intellectual making a statement about a civilisation that we have as a society fallen in love with. But it is in fact these qualifications that blind her and most others in the field since it began as a discipline in the 1800’s.
The “unknown” that hangs like a great spectre over the facts and artefacts that we possess from that epoch is the other part of the equation that draws us so powerfully to pharaonic civilisation (some more than others, and I include myself in that category). In this work, I feel that this aspect has been abandoned in order to make a case for something else (authoritarianism, patriarchy and the rest).
I do not believe the word theocracy was mentioned once in the book. The author acknowledges that religion played a massive role and makes great comparisons to what is happening in the US today, but the sense of devotion to the gods and the extent of their belief in those gods that saturates the artefacts bequeathed to us gets little attention. It can not be compared to what is happening with modern religions today, I think. Is this why we can not find a word in the hieroglyphs for “religion”?
Perhaps our western minds are incapable of grasping the many ideas relating to the numinous and the spiritual that the sages of Ancient Egypt went to a lot of trouble to preserve. At least that’s what RA Schwaller de Lubicz seemed to think anyway.
I think that when we understand the ancient’s concept and relationship to deity, we find the key to getting to the bottom of that “unknown” that really draws our attention to the pharaonic era of Egypt’s history.
Victorian era Egyptology - even when given a modern slant as this book does - needs to reconsider how we approach understanding what is for me a breathtaking and mystical civilisation. Egyptology may need to engage artists, mystics, philosophers and perhaps even spiritualists to help with further understanding moving forward.
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