Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This book reads like a book that was cobbled together over a weekend because the author needed the money. Indeed, large chunks are cut and pasted nearly verbatim from Gabriel's other books. Worse, it is poorly executed and cries out for a proofreader. Silly errors make it difficult to have confidence in the information provided. For example: on page 54 where Gabriel writes, "[In Egypt] Except for a few places in the Nile Delta, there are no wide-open plains upon which to maneuver [chariots] *as there were in Canaan* and Syria. Yet on page 74 *"Canaan offered few smooth plains* where, the opportunities for wide-ranging maneuver and speed provided dividends." Which was it? On page 92 Thutmose captured 924 enemy chariots but on the very next page only 892 were captured. After praising the Egyptian six-spoked chariot wheel on page 59 we discover on page 75 that "The Canaanite chariot was heavier than the Egyptian vehicle *because* of its four- or six-spoked wheels." How is that exactly? These kinds of errors leave the reader wondering about the accuracy of the rest of the material. [* emphasis added]
It also fails because of unnecessary hyperbole used to build Thutmose III up and justify writing the book. Gabriel takes pains to regularly mention Thutmose's brilliance, but the most excessive hyperbole occurs early in the book. In comparing Thutmose favorably to Alexander the Great Gabriel writes; "If the greatness of a field commander is judged by the ability of the enemy he faces . . . then compared to Alexander, Thutmose must rank as the greater field commander." That is nonsense as judged by Gabriel's own criteria. The evidence provided in his book describes Thutmose's "battles" as skirmishes against inferior opposition. Certainly Thutmose was an admirable military leader but, as Gabriel's own book shows, he was no Alexander. Indeed, one significant question that goes unexamined is why there was so little serious resistance to Thutmose's raids.
Finally, some of the sentences and even paragraphs just don't make sense. The text is sometimes repetitious and appears poorly organized. Occasionally, the pictures don't reflect the equipment Gabriel describes. All of these things reflect the little effort put into the book. Save your money and don't reward Gabriel for foisting "Thutmose III" on an unsuspecting public.
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In the course of his thirty-two-year reign over ancient Egypt, Thutmose III fought an impressive seventeen campaigns. He fought more battles over a longer period of time and experienced more victories than Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar did. Despite Thutmose III's surprisingly illustrious record, his name does not command the same immediate recognition as these highly visible military leaders.In Thutmose III, Richard Gabriel deftly brings to life the character and ability of ancient Egypt's warrior king and sheds light on Thutmose's key contributions to Egyptian history. Considered the father of the Egyptian navy, Thutmose created the first combat navy in the ancient world and built an enormous shipyard near Memphis to construct troop, horse, and supply transports to support his campaigns in Syria and Iraq. He also reformed the army, establishing a reliable conscript base, creating a professional officer corps, equipping it with modern weapons, and integrating chariotry's combat arm into new tactical doctrines. Politically, he introduced strategic principles of national security that guided Egyptian diplomatic, commercial, and military policies for half a millennium and created the Egyptian empire.Through these crowning achievements, Thutmose set into motion events that shaped and influenced the Levant and Egypt for the next four hundred years. His reign can be regarded as a watershed in the military and imperial history of the entire eastern Mediterranean.
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