Niebuhr in Egypt: European Science in a Biblical World

Endorsements: A number of recent books have underlined the importance of Carsten Niebuhrs travels in the Near East but no one has brought Niebuhr and his scholarship to life as successfully as does Roger Guichard in this highly readable book. Guichard accomplishes this by describing in detail how Niebuhr spent his year (1761-62) in Egypt negotiating the suspicions of many Egyptians and ignoring the almost exclusively biblical interests of his European patrons. Guichard introduces us to a man who read extensively measured carefully and did not hesitate to seek out local informants and assistants--and who as a result produced travel narratives that enormously enriched his contemporaries knowledge of both modern and ancient Egypt. Guichards detailed knowledge of Arabic sources Egyptian geography and Ottoman history make it possible for him to offer a convincing assessment of Niebuhrs perspicacity accuracy and antipathy toward Eurocentric prejudices. --Suzanne Marchand author of German Orientalism in the Age of Empire: Religion Race and Scholarship