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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
I only wish I had read it when I lived in Turkey. A great early historical narrative of the Greco-Persian wars. I love the Landmark series and really really appreciate the maps; they helped me keep all my city-states and satraps straight.
This is an unannotated Book Club edition of the 1858 Rawlinson translation. The edition tagged to this was the only similar one I could find with a picture!
I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would: thank you Michael Ondaatje, for I have been determined to read this ever since The English Patient.
The earlier books, where Herodotus describes the world and tells lots of stories are great fun, not least because of his inimitable voice: he often takes care to list his sources and give all versions or explanations before saying which he believes is the most credible and why. Even so, he remains credulous, even gullible, in the face of some travellers' tales - I love the idea of sheep with tails so long that they drag them after them on little trucks so the wool is not damaged. His little asides and dismissive scepticism made me smile.
The last few books are a detailed description of the war between the Greeks and the Persians. I found the beginning of this section and the details of Darius' campaign a little drier than the rest but, once the Athenians were battling to get everyone to work together, the pace picked up again and I was disappointed when it came to an abrupt end.
The most difficult thing about this text is the sheer number of names - I'm not sure I could tell you the role of more than half a dozen people because I just glossed over those that got mentions only or who played a part in one small tale. Were I a more careful reader, or the sort that likes to follow threads carefully, I suspect I would have become somewhat frustrated.
What I really wanted was a map, something this edition was without, but one can hardly blame the author (or even the translator) for that.
I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would: thank you Michael Ondaatje, for I have been determined to read this ever since The English Patient.
The earlier books, where Herodotus describes the world and tells lots of stories are great fun, not least because of his inimitable voice: he often takes care to list his sources and give all versions or explanations before saying which he believes is the most credible and why. Even so, he remains credulous, even gullible, in the face of some travellers' tales - I love the idea of sheep with tails so long that they drag them after them on little trucks so the wool is not damaged. His little asides and dismissive scepticism made me smile.
The last few books are a detailed description of the war between the Greeks and the Persians. I found the beginning of this section and the details of Darius' campaign a little drier than the rest but, once the Athenians were battling to get everyone to work together, the pace picked up again and I was disappointed when it came to an abrupt end.
The most difficult thing about this text is the sheer number of names - I'm not sure I could tell you the role of more than half a dozen people because I just glossed over those that got mentions only or who played a part in one small tale. Were I a more careful reader, or the sort that likes to follow threads carefully, I suspect I would have become somewhat frustrated.
What I really wanted was a map, something this edition was without, but one can hardly blame the author (or even the translator) for that.
Una joya unica, Herodotus que era niño cuando estos eventos pasaron nos cuenta como fue la guerra de Grecia contra Persia.
Lamentablemente no tenemos otras fuentes y en mucho de lo que nos cuenta posiblemente no es cierto. En todo caso es una lectura unica para entender la epoca.
Pero tambien el libro incluye ciertas descripciones que lo hacen bastente tedioso, los rios por los que el ejercito persiano, etc.
Estoy seguro de que hay otras ediciones que recortan estas cosas y aunque por un lado es un sacrilegio, creo que facilmente se le pueden quitar 100 paginas que no añaden nada a un lector moderno que no sea un historiador.
Lamentablemente no tenemos otras fuentes y en mucho de lo que nos cuenta posiblemente no es cierto. En todo caso es una lectura unica para entender la epoca.
Pero tambien el libro incluye ciertas descripciones que lo hacen bastente tedioso, los rios por los que el ejercito persiano, etc.
Estoy seguro de que hay otras ediciones que recortan estas cosas y aunque por un lado es un sacrilegio, creo que facilmente se le pueden quitar 100 paginas que no añaden nada a un lector moderno que no sea un historiador.
I'd give this 4 1/2 stars if I could. It is wonderful reading. There are lots of slow bits, but all in all the real history combined with the sometimes fantastical stories make up for the slow parts. From the Battle of Marathon on it picks up speed, culminating in the final defeat of Persia by the Greeks. Have you ever gotten to the end of a book and wanted to immediately start over even if that book took you almost a year to read? Yeah, that's this book for me. Now I am looking forward to reading all kinds of books about Herodotus and books inspired by Herodotus.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Worth reading just for the translator, whose fussy, gossipy British voice shines through every bit as strongly as Herodotus's own.