Like pretty much all anthropologists, I was an ancient Egypt maniac when I was younger. I'm getting back into learning about the civilization, but I realized I've never really heard much about the Ptolemaic period, to say nothing of later innovations like the spread of Christianity or Islam in the Region. Can anyone outline what this HUGE chunk of time looks like, and, even better, tell me what books and or accessible articles I can read about this?
I'm pretty sure this is far too long a period for any single person to cover, but I'll go over the major dyansties/ruling-powers of Egypt from the Islamic conquest to modern times if you'd like?
The Islamic conquests of Egypt were led by Amir ibn Al As. From the 7th to the 9th century Egypt is a part of regular Caliphal politics in the empire, the Rashidun (the first four "rightly guided" caliphs), the Umayyads, and the Abbasid. The Abbasids are subject to a major upheaval of regional autonomy, as whole sections of the Islamic empire gain independence or pseudo independence. In Egypt this takes the form of the Tulunid dynasty of the 9th century. The Tulunid mosque in cairo stands to this day: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque_of_Ibn_Tulun
They were succeeded by the Fatimids, a Shia dynasty, who together with the Buyids to the east are one reason why the 10th century is sometimes called "the Shia Century" followed by a "Sunni Revival." The population, however, remained overwhelmingly sunni. The last Fatimid caliphs were extremely weakened and essentially served at the convenience of their own soldiers. The last Fatimid caliph was finally overthrown by Saladin, starting the Ayyubid dyansty. Nonetheless the Fatimids left their mark in the mosque/madrasa of Al-Azhar which has been the center of Islamic learning for the past thousand years or so. The Ayyubids relied on Mamluk (meaning "one who is owned") slave soldiers. As did much of the Islamic world. However, the Mamluks of Egypt rose up and overthrew the Ayyubids and established a state of their own based on a sort of military meritocracy.
The Mamluks also produced some of the most extraordinary buildings/cultural productions in the Islamic world, including the Sultan Hassan Mosque and other major mosques throughout the country. They also defeated the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut, which is the high water mark of Mongol advance into the Muslim world.
At the start of the 16th century the battle of Marj Dabiq spelled the end of Mamluk rule as Mamluk forces were crushed by a technologically, logistically, and operationally superior Ottoman force, ending the independence of Egypt for the next three centuries.
To be perfectly honest I'm actually probably far more competent to explain the 19th and 20th (and for that matter, 21st if it weren't against the rules) history of Egypt, but that's how far your question went. To give a quick overview, Ottoman rule of Egypt essentially continues from then until Napoleon invades Egypt, after which, to re-install order, the Ottomans send Muhammad Ali Pasha who created an independent dynasty until British occupation in 1882, but continuing as rulers of Egypt until the Free Officers revolution in 1952.
edit: typos
double edit: I'm struggling to think of a book that I've read that covers all of this in a single volume focusing solely upon Egypt. If you have an interest in the past two centuries P.J. Vatikiotis' "Modern History of Egypt" is excellent. As are the relevant portions of Malcolm Yapp's "Making of the Modern Near East 1792-1923."
In terms of sourcing however, I believe everything that I've described is more or less common knowledge in the field. If there's a particular era or subject you'd like more information in I could probably help with that, however. It's just that if you want the full thousand-ish years from the Islamic conquest to the victory of the Ottomans in a single volume, I haven't read anything particularly great that would cover that.