Egypt was trampled by almost every great power in the world. Greeks; Romans; Arabs; Persians; Turks; French; and English. Each came with their own agenda; greed and avarice. looting and pillaging the riches of Egypt; In many instances the proud people resisted staunchly; but in many others they fell to their invaders. The Egyptians adopted Christianity early on; after the evangelist martyr Saint Mark visited the country. Christianity flowed in Egypt like the River Nile that flows through the arid dessert and rapidly transformed its people into ardent believers; saints and martyrs for the sake of their savior. This is the story of the Copt Christians of Egypt; they still inhabit the narrow Nile Valley till today; against all odds. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt still persist on this spot of land in spite of centuries of marginalizing; ostracizing and sanctioned persecutions. This book tells the story of the Copts of Egypt throughout the ages; the descendants of the great Pharaohs of Egypt.
#82930 in Books Grand Central Publishing 2014-06-03 2014-06-03Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.25 x 1.00 x 5.63l; .70 #File Name: 145550324X320 pagesGrand Central Publishing
Review
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Behind every great man is a woman who knows the real story.By CoderjaneThis was a good book about a fascinating time in American history. I recommend this to anyone interested in the early space program of course; but another audience I feel would enjoy this book are those fans of Madmen and other period shows set in the 60s. The book explores the dynamics of the time. Here is a group of suburban moms; running the kids back and forth to dance lessons; baking and cooking; washing the dog and driving to the grocery store in their station-wagons. Just like Ozzy and Harriet? Hardly. Many of the wives wanted sports cars like the astronauts recieved; but NASA thought station-wagons were more 'appropriate' for the wives. Everybody drank; everybody smoked.... and that's just the women. Had I been in their perfectly polished and color coordinated shoes; I'm sure I'd have joined them. They put up with more than we can imagine. In many ways they put their own needs and goals on hold in order to support their husbands' career. They dealt with loneliness; crippling worry about their husbands' safely (as well as fidelity); running things alone while the men were away; all while turning out perfect cassaroles and coordinating their lipstick color for publicity shots.I recommend this. It's a good read. These are stories of strong women; dealing with everything that gets hurled at them; raising their children; supporting their friends and smiling for the cameras. It does tend to jump around a bit from wife to wife; from one launch to another. I thought it might have been a bit easier to keep up with all the characters if their stories were told one at a time instead of mixing in stories from each; but I understand why the author wanted to keep the story moving from wife to wife.For fans of The Right Stuff and Apollo 13; this fills in some background from a perspective often overlooked... the women on the home front who held it together while living with nightly news crews camped out on their lawns.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Forced myself to finish it. People in the story end up diminished and stereotyped.By BabyWranglerI read this for a book club. I appreciate the research; but it was too much to cover in one book. I would have much rather read the story of one couple than try to get them all in one book. I couldn't keep track of the people; the marriages; or individual's personality traits. This book would have benefited from more photos; and even a chart or two. I would have liked more pictures of the couples together and some NASA photos. I found the family pics at the end; but it was too late to help me. The recipes were a nice touch. Overall; the author really tried to cram a story about famous men's wives into the women's lib story she seemed more interested in constructing. Nothing against the movement; but other than the time period; it had little to do with how these women lived as astronauts' wives. And; as far as a club; the book didn't convince me that it was more than any spouse's club for military members. I forced myself to finish this for the book club; but most members didn't finish it. The conversation at the meeting was more about the TV version (which I didn't watch); and dried up quickly. I know these are interesting people with stories to tell; but the way this is told; the wives and astronauts seem very diminished. Also; the Stepford Wives angle is overplayed in relation to women from this time period. I knew women like this and not one of them came off as either "perfect" or fake to me.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. The astronauts wives in sketch formBy Linda M. BackI love the choice of subject matter; but it failed to deliver much of its potential. At a brief count; the author attempted to sketch the lives of 49 astronaut wives... So the character development etc suffered and it became a chronology; which I don;t think was the original intention.It was disappointing that she did not concentrate substantially on the first seven; painting their lives with vignettes and moments which would have revealed the true depth of the situation these women found themselves in. The only moment which was developed in any way was the presser on the lawns of each wife... And the arrival of the other wives when the news was bad. there was little scarcely any more development which was such an amazing opportunit lost. it seemed as though she has been just collating material from other sources and had not interviewed or known these women at all.
