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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
I'm happy I picked up the Landmark Herodotus edition. It would have been a much more difficult read otherwise. The maps every few pages make it easy to follow the action, the glossary couldn't be better, and the notes on the sides of the text allow skimming some of the less interesting sections - like the not infrequent full-page paragraphs enumerating and describing rivers.
Herodotus writes thing non-linearly. I generally don't like this because it makes things hard to follow. But somehow he makes it work. His digressions usually (but not always) circle back to the original line of thought, and are mostly useful to illustrate a point he's making.
The writing style reminds me a lot of Cervantes, both because of some similar phrasings here and there, but more generally in that they make themselves part of the story and don't hide behind the text.
Herodotus writes thing non-linearly. I generally don't like this because it makes things hard to follow. But somehow he makes it work. His digressions usually (but not always) circle back to the original line of thought, and are mostly useful to illustrate a point he's making.
The writing style reminds me a lot of Cervantes, both because of some similar phrasings here and there, but more generally in that they make themselves part of the story and don't hide behind the text.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Book 68 out of 200 books
"The Histories" by Herodotus
Herodotus, dubbed "The Father of History", has many notes that he has to offer to the world. Those notes and anecdotes are all compiled to a single book, "The Histories", which he spent years writing. The book was published around 430 BC.
MY THOUGHTS:
This work, alongside Homer's "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey", are considered to be one of the founding works of not only western literature but world literature as well.
I give this book 3 stars because I have to admit, while I enjoyed reading some parts of this book, the book was a bore overall. Maybe I should've did basic research before actually reading this work.
Anyway, this work, I'd remark, is one of the meaningful and encyclopedic reads of 2021. I read this book before the end of the year.
"The Histories" by Herodotus
Herodotus, dubbed "The Father of History", has many notes that he has to offer to the world. Those notes and anecdotes are all compiled to a single book, "The Histories", which he spent years writing. The book was published around 430 BC.
MY THOUGHTS:
This work, alongside Homer's "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey", are considered to be one of the founding works of not only western literature but world literature as well.
I give this book 3 stars because I have to admit, while I enjoyed reading some parts of this book, the book was a bore overall. Maybe I should've did basic research before actually reading this work.
Anyway, this work, I'd remark, is one of the meaningful and encyclopedic reads of 2021. I read this book before the end of the year.
Holy crap, all of these wonderful reviews are making me feel like a complete ignoramus (or something) for not ALSO finding this book to be glorious and fabulously wonderful. I don't remember now how long it took me to COMPLETELY finish this book but... if I had to hazard a guess I would say that it was between 3 - 4 years. I remember that there were A FEW interesting little anecdotal stories interspersed here and there but most of this book was an EXTREME slogfest for me. I had originally planned on reading "The History of the Peloponnesian War" by Thucydides after reading The Histories. Oy vey. After Herodotus though, I decided I had to take a break... I still haven't made it back to Thucydides.
Rock on, peeps who enjoyed this book. I am thoroughly impressed.
Rock on, peeps who enjoyed this book. I am thoroughly impressed.