A vivid account of the 'birth of civilization' in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, from prehistoric times to the age of pyramids~Looks at these two seminal civilizations side by side, showing how they mixed with and borrowed from each other over the centuries~Deals with everything from the creation of cities, kingdoms, and monumental temples to the birth of 'everyday' practices such as cooking food and keeping the house and body clean~Concludes with a telling comparison between the ancient Near East and more recent attempts to reshape the world to an ideal image