Wilkinson’s ambitious focus is the hundred years of Egyptology between Jean-Francois Champollion’s groundbreaking deciphering of the Rosetta stone in 1822 and Howard Carter’s sensational discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922.

A World Beneath the Sands tells a gripping story by means of all the wayward eccentrics and heroic archaeologists who devoted their lives to uncovering the world’s most ancient and dazzling monuments from beneath unimaginable depths of windblown sand.

Toby Wilkinson’s new history of the golden age of Egyptology is also very much a history of western willy-waving.

... [a] fine history of Egyptian archaeology, which, besides being a splendid survey of real-life Egyptian civilization, provides answers to interesting archaeological questions.

...colorful.

It would be hard to overstate the excellence of Wilkinson’s storytelling — and I was surprisingly distraught to think that there can never be a sequel.

Wilkinson is a master storyteller, and the narrative is so engaging that readers will find it hard to put down. This comprehensive study is highly recommended for anyone interested in the exploration and study of Egypt, both ancient and modern..

[A] dramatic, detailed and eccentric-packed story of the century between the decoding of the Rosetta Stone in 1822 and the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922.

Perhaps Egyptology equips people to create illusions. If Toby Wilkinson’s new book, A World Beneath the Sands, is anything to go by, some Egyptologists operate under quite a large one: that the history of their field is something to celebrate rather than scrutinise. The drama plays out against palm trees, pyramids and Nile boats, with top billing for white European men. A few Americans and Englishwomen take minor roles; Egyptians are somewhere in the wings..

Refreshingly, Wilkinson dedicates a chapter to two women: Lucie Duff Gordon and Amelia Edwards.

Wilkinson marshals a wealth of detail into a cohesive and entertaining narrative. The result is an essential portrait of how the rediscovery of '[Egypt’s] ancient past paved the way for its modern rebirth.'.