古埃及延续了三千年，是人类迄今为止创造的最持久、最成功的文明。然而，埃及以外的大多数人仍然完全没有意识到埃及历史对我们生活的影响。我们世界的哪些方面应该归功于埃及人？为什么我们却对此一无所知？

《十诫》及其至今仍宣扬的道德准则直接源自埃及。古埃及人控制了新月沃土——丝绸之路的终点——并沿红海进行贸易，这比居鲁士大帝统一游牧部落、建立波斯要早至少一千年。在古代晚期，埃及人经常远行至印度，以前所未有的方式连接着世界。

古埃及人热衷于探索，在贸易、几何学、天文学和哲学方面取得了惊人的进步。在呵护环境方面，他们彻底改变了艺术、建筑和园林。在研究自然世界方面，他们在化学、植物学和药理学方面取得了巨大的飞跃。

埃及对世界的影响巨大，但远不及古希腊和古罗马的著作那样广为人知。在这部令人眼花缭乱的著作中，我们重新发现了彼此之间最深层的联系，著名历史学家Anthony Sattin重新思考了我们是谁，我们从哪里来，以及为什么我们对此知之甚少。

关于作者：

Anthony Sattin is an author, journalist and broadcaster. A graduate of the University of East Anglia Creative Writing Masters programme, he began his career writing and reviewing fiction before turning to narrative non-fiction. His highly acclaimed books of history and travel include Young Lawrence, A Winter on the Nile, The Pharaoh's Shadow, The Gates of Africa and Lifting the Veil. His latest book, Nomads: The Wanderers Who Shaped Our World, is a work of history that looks at the shifting relations between nomadic and settled people over the past 12,000 years, since the time when we all lived on the move. A contributing editor to Condé Nast Traveller, editorial advisor on Geographical Magazine and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, he lives between London and the Middle East. Each spring for the past 18 years Anthony has guided a tour by sailboat up the Nile.