They are very dated, and I wish people would stop recommending them. It’s extremely insulting as an ancient historian to see so many people apparently believe that we’ve learned nothing of interest in the last 90 years. I wrote more about the first volume here.

Susan Wise Bauer’s History of the Ancient World is probably your best bet. For ancient Egypt in particular, I recommend Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs and Red Land, Black Land by Barbara Mertz.