I mean, I'm not going to tell you what to buy, but those aren't your grandmother's high school textbooks. Those are highly refined, well researched and edited texts which represent the foremost in research in the field. This is why I was specific about which publishers to buy from. Sure they're "textbooks" in the sense that they are broad-ranging texts designed to give you a basic overview of the period, but that's kind of what you wanted, right? Those books are there to give you a good base to start from, and, most importantly clue you into where to go next through recommended readings. But sure, if you want to dive in with a relatively narrow topic from before the linguistic turn, be my guest.
*EDIT* I misread the first part of your message. Egypt and the Egyptians should be exactly what you're looking for. Enjoy!