Mirage: Napoleon's Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt

The story of Napoleon's invasion of the Nile Valley, the scholars and scientists who tagged along, and the birth of Egyptology: "A fascinating read." —San Francisco Chronicle

Two hundred years ago, only the most reckless or eccentric Europeans had dared to traverse the unmapped territory of the modern-day Middle East. But in 1798, more than 150 French engineers, artists, doctors, and scientists—even a poet and a musicologist—traveled to the Nile Valley under the command of Napoleon Bonapart...