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bkoser's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting to see the genesis of modern history writing. The vignettes are the best ("Hippoclides doesn't care!"). The "nothing new under the sun" moments are always neat (eg ancient Egypt had specialty doctors).
postitsandpens's review against another edition
4.0
This book has been on my to-read list for over ten years, but I was always rather intimidated by its size. I found that this book is actually quite readable, and appreciated the copious amounts of footnotes included, as I was able to get context and further information as I was reading. (Google also came in handy.) I will say this book is quite dense. It has small font, small margins, and few breaks. It was at times tedious to read, with sometimes entire paragraphs listing places, or a person's ancestors, or detailing at length how soldiers from various places were dressed. It also had humor, a narrator who knows he goes off track and refuses to apologize for it, and lots and lots of backstabbing, in-fighting, and sore feelings between various Greek nations. I'm glad to have finally given it a read, and also pleased that I enjoyed it so much. I do recommend taking this in small chunks if you decide to give it a read, though!
twhitehead's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointing. At its best there are really interesting bits separated by endless boring tangents and ramblings.
andreana_k's review against another edition
4.0
Tom Hollands introduction is just delightful, he really loves Herodotus, and he writes so eloquently.
mwgerard's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyable and very accessible!
My review: http://mwgerard.com/books-for-september-2015/
My review: http://mwgerard.com/books-for-september-2015/
thejdizzler's review against another edition
4.0
Wow this took me forever to read, but it was totally worth it. I started for the first time in August of 2018 when I listened to Dan Carlin's Hardcore history podcast about the Persian Empire/had told my HS English teacher that I was going to read it. I think I made it through books one and two 3-4 times, but never further because of the beginning of book 3 was so goddamn boring, but this fall I managed to finally finish the thing, which was super worth it because the last three books were amazing! Things I learned.
1. Cyrus the Great was a cool dude. He was raised as a goat herder, but Royal Blood tells so he eventually became king despite the fears of his grandpa. Dude was pretty nice to the people he conquered, except Babylon and the Scythians, who ended up killing him.
2. Somebody probably circumnavigated Africa before the Portugese, as Herodotus mentions sailors accounts of Sun positions that could only have been observed if they crossed the equator. At the very least, they rounded Cape Borador. Other geography was both surprisingly accurate (source of the Nile) or absolutely crazy (Hyperboreans and Indian gold eating giant ants).
3. If I were to live in Greece it would have to be in Athens, because the other Greeks are either cowards or Spartans.
4. The Gods have a hand in almost everything. This was one of my favorite parts of the book. Herodtous paints a picture of a world in transition, where the gods still influence things but are not directly present as in the Iliad. Reminded me of Gene Wolfe, although I suppose more accurately, Gene Wolfe was inspired by Herodotus.
5. History is confusing. Herodotus often gives us multiple accounts of a single event, usually suggesting the one he prefers.
Overall really great book, especially as I said before the account of the Persian Wars. The translation I choose (not this one, the one by George Rawlison), was surprisingly easy to read despite being written in 1858. I would recommend going with the more recent Tom Holland translation however. Now time to finish the Republic and then onward to Thucydides!
Favorite Quote: "Yea, for after I had reckoned up, it came into my mind to feel pity at the thought how brief was the whole life of man, seeing that of these multitudes not one will be alive when a hundred years have gone by." (Xerxes on his army crossing the Hellespont)
1. Cyrus the Great was a cool dude. He was raised as a goat herder, but Royal Blood tells so he eventually became king despite the fears of his grandpa. Dude was pretty nice to the people he conquered, except Babylon and the Scythians, who ended up killing him.
2. Somebody probably circumnavigated Africa before the Portugese, as Herodotus mentions sailors accounts of Sun positions that could only have been observed if they crossed the equator. At the very least, they rounded Cape Borador. Other geography was both surprisingly accurate (source of the Nile) or absolutely crazy (Hyperboreans and Indian gold eating giant ants).
3. If I were to live in Greece it would have to be in Athens, because the other Greeks are either cowards or Spartans.
4. The Gods have a hand in almost everything. This was one of my favorite parts of the book. Herodtous paints a picture of a world in transition, where the gods still influence things but are not directly present as in the Iliad. Reminded me of Gene Wolfe, although I suppose more accurately, Gene Wolfe was inspired by Herodotus.
5. History is confusing. Herodotus often gives us multiple accounts of a single event, usually suggesting the one he prefers.
Overall really great book, especially as I said before the account of the Persian Wars. The translation I choose (not this one, the one by George Rawlison), was surprisingly easy to read despite being written in 1858. I would recommend going with the more recent Tom Holland translation however. Now time to finish the Republic and then onward to Thucydides!
Favorite Quote: "Yea, for after I had reckoned up, it came into my mind to feel pity at the thought how brief was the whole life of man, seeing that of these multitudes not one will be alive when a hundred years have gone by." (Xerxes on his army crossing the Hellespont)
hellhoundharry's review against another edition
3.0
As an actualy historical account this is laughable. But as an important book in the history of literature and a neat collection of stories? Priceless!
musicdeepdive's review against another edition
5.0
Re: the Purvis translation -- with a plethora of annotations, diagrams, maps and complementary essays, I can't think of a better way to absorb this material than in this specific edition. A dense, dense read unless you're intimately familiar with Greek/Persian history going in, but its place in the canon of Western literature is pivotal, and for what it is and when it came out, it is an exceptional achievement. Herodotus's attention to detail and his detailed descriptions of events, peoples and places are invaluable, even if some of his claims clearly don't stand the test of time.
briandice's review against another edition
5.0
It wasn't just Vollmann's fourth reference to Herodotus in a span of 20 pages in Rising Up and Rising Down, it was the reality and shame that I'm in my 40s and the most I know about the war between Persia and the Hellenic city states is what I learned from the movie 300. Thus, The Histories.
First: I can't imagine what it would have been like reading these nine books by Herodotus in any format other than this simply amazingly researched and presented volume. The Landmark has to be the final word on Herodotus: the maps, the footnotes, the appendices, indices, forwards and notes - it is an astounding collection created for the layperson like me to approach a subject that is seemingly dry and yawn-worthy. But The Histories is anything but boring. At times, even page-turning, jaw-dropping awesome. When you say to your partner, "Honey, listen to this -" and then quote Herodotus, you know something amazing has happened.
Herodotus does more than just recount tales of war, he goes to great lengths to describe the culture and the history of dozens of the denizens in his world. An astounding undertaking in any age - made even more incredible given that this was written 600+ BCE. His even-handed histories and details of Persia, a nation looking to conquer and subjugate his own, is an astounding feat of scholarship and academia - even before those words had meaning.
I was so impressed with The Landmark that I purchased their publications on Thucydides and Xenophon. By the time I've finished both of those, I'll be able to play horseshit bingo the next time I watch 300.
First: I can't imagine what it would have been like reading these nine books by Herodotus in any format other than this simply amazingly researched and presented volume. The Landmark has to be the final word on Herodotus: the maps, the footnotes, the appendices, indices, forwards and notes - it is an astounding collection created for the layperson like me to approach a subject that is seemingly dry and yawn-worthy. But The Histories is anything but boring. At times, even page-turning, jaw-dropping awesome. When you say to your partner, "Honey, listen to this -" and then quote Herodotus, you know something amazing has happened.
Herodotus does more than just recount tales of war, he goes to great lengths to describe the culture and the history of dozens of the denizens in his world. An astounding undertaking in any age - made even more incredible given that this was written 600+ BCE. His even-handed histories and details of Persia, a nation looking to conquer and subjugate his own, is an astounding feat of scholarship and academia - even before those words had meaning.
I was so impressed with The Landmark that I purchased their publications on Thucydides and Xenophon. By the time I've finished both of those, I'll be able to play horseshit bingo the next time I watch 300.
ianl1963's review against another edition
2.0
My inner child is aghast that a book only gets two stars when it contains a character named Atossa!
Lineage; think one page consisted of, son of .. son of... son of, enthralling!
Then there was the exciting list of rivers!
Not my cup of tea, no doubt due to my lack of erudition.
Lineage; think one page consisted of, son of .. son of... son of, enthralling!
Then there was the exciting list of rivers!
Not my cup of tea, no doubt due to my lack of erudition.