Rating: 
Summary: Herodotus is the father of history, but tread with caution
Review: Herodotus is a great historian of the ancient world and he'll go off on long tangents about various people. He was obviously a significant academic who was widely travelled, but some of his insights are no doubt a part of his very active imagination. He discusses the people we all know existed as contemporaries of the Greeks such as the Phoenician traders who competed with the Greeks in the Mediterranean as well as their main military rivals, the Persians. We are also treated to what Herodotus refers to as local customs such as how the pecularities of the Babylonian dress and how brides were bought and sold (Herodotus finds this an admirable practice!). There is a long section on the Egyptians which is often second hand information and it's amusing to read how Herodotus isn't sure where to place Egypt (Asia or Libya). He also makes parallels between peoples such as the respect shown to the elderly in Egypt and parts of Greece. This is, however, a history and we get plenty of that, but Herodotus likes to digress into social anthropological observation. We get the Persian wars, the rise of Alexander, the bizarre behavior of the Persian kings, the conquests of Egypt, and all sorts of other events. I would agree with the description of Herodotus found on the back cover of this edition as he is indeed both the father of history and the father of lies (albeit perhaps more like the father of hyperbole in my opinion). Highly recommended for all students of ancient history. Just don't take everything he claims as fact!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for undergraduates and the layperson
Review: Herodotus is often called the "father of history" or if one is more picky and less kind the "father of lies". Regardless of which title you believe he deserves, his "Histories" are a valuable source of information about the Ancient Greek world and their opinions and experiences with other ancient peoples. This translation by de Selincourt and Marincola flows smoothly, students and laypeople should have little trouble understanding the content at least on the surface. Furthermore they have done all of us a great service by keeping traditional enumeration of the lines. My only complaint are the endnotes -- I hate endnotes because I have seen how rarely readers will use them compared to footnotes. Currently (fall 2002) the professor I'm assisting is using this in his ancient survey course.
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Summary: Herodotus "Father of History", "Father of Lies"
Review: Herodotus of Ionia was fated with the typical fate of the inovator. That is being both praised to heaven and damned to hell.Herodutus started to write a greek travel book containing stories and bits information about customs, history, geography. It appears that in the course of his research Herodutus decided that the theme of his book was the conflict between Asia and Europe. And he set himself the task of explaining the reason for and course of the Persian Wars. (c. 490-478 BCE)The resulting book is mish-mash of geography, anthropology, travel-log and straight history, all centered around the theme of the Persian/Greek confrontation. Herodotus traveled a great deal around the eastern mediterianian before he lived in Athens and then before his death move to Thurii in Italy where he died. He may have been one of the most traveled men of his time. The reliability of what he wrote varies from place to place in his book. Herodotus loved a good story and recorded often several different accounts of the same event frequently. He did exercise discrimination in that in book Seven he mentions that the fact he recorded an event doesn't mean he believed it happened, he leaves that to the reader. The results are a joy to read, full of potboiler tidbits and a flashy style. Unfortunately Herodotus' nubers are often absurd, (just see his ridiculous figures for the Persians, Herodotus gives a total figure of more than 5 MILLION!) As History Herodotus must be used with care but as a read he is suberb fun. Which comes through this excellent translation. Since your the first you get blamed and you get praised overall Herodotus should be both praised and read!
Rating:
Summary: Father of History, lies and uncle to critical thought
Review: Herodotus' Histories is a rich and amazing early history. The Greek historian was the first writer to employ the theories of the Milesian thinkers to history. He critically analyzed all the information and conflicting sources that he had before making a decision. Although some of the theories that he put forth may not be seen as wrong; this critical thought was an impresive leap in the writing of history. The creater of the battle narative he wrote from a perspective other than the Homeric poetic tradition. Looking at battles as more than the hubris of a few men. Wonderful and informative. Although there are many parts of Herodotus that must be questioned, he is an invaluable resource to anyone interested in Greek history or the early classical historians. He was the first. Some sections of the writing become heavy handed because of his moralizations and theories that revolve around the gods, but this just adds flavor to this interesting historian. Herodotus began a new genre of writing and did it with style. Because of his tendancy to run off in many different directions, it is helpful to only read him in sections or with a sylabis put together by a Greek historian. Otherwise one can drown in this massive, but wonderful work.
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Summary: Herodotus' "Histories"
Review: Herodotus, as everybody knows, is "The Father of History." However, another tradition, almost as old, has cast him as the "Father of Lies". Unlike Thucydides, who immediately followed him, Herodotus' history was epic in scope, encompassing all human life - and his discussions of supernatural or divine events, for instance, often read as being exceptionally credulous and lacking in critical awareness.
However, this need not detract from one's enjoyment of this marvellous work. Herodotus travelled all across the world, Greek and non-Greek, and while he supplies us with a good deal of fascinating and factual information about historical events, his digressions into the realms of mythology and local folk-tales keep us entertained to the last. The highly digressive structure of the work makes it exceptionally difficult to follow the chronological or analytical thread in places, but that's beside the point. The "Histories" is a book to submerge yourself into, and whether you want to find out about Greek history in the archaic period or merely be entertained by a wealth of beautifully-told anecdotes, Herodotus is the man for you. His merits are numerous - unlike Thucydides, his conception of history encompasses far more than the narrow realms of politics and wars, and he is happy to set differing traditions alongside one another and allow the reader to make up their own mind. As we move into a period when history is increasingly seen as "holistic", and away from the narrow Thucydidean conception of history, we increasingly learn to treasure Herodotus for what he is - the fossilized voice of an entire generation of men, living in an impossibly distant past, keeping us entertained with their fireside stories. All this is facilitated by Aubrey de Selincourt's fluent (if slightly free) translation. Superb.
Rating:
Summary: Herodotus' "Histories"
Review: Herodotus, as everybody knows, is "The Father of History." However, another tradition, almost as old, has cast him as the "Father of Lies". Unlike Thucydides, who immediately followed him, Herodotus' history was epic in scope, encompassing all human life - and his discussions of supernatural or divine events, for instance, often read as being exceptionally credulous and lacking in critical awareness.
However, this need not detract from one's enjoyment of this marvellous work. Herodotus travelled all across the world, Greek and non-Greek, and while he supplies us with a good deal of fascinating and factual information about historical events, his digressions into the realms of mythology and local folk-tales keep us entertained to the last. The highly digressive structure of the work makes it exceptionally difficult to follow the chronological or analytical thread in places, but that's beside the point. The "Histories" is a book to submerge yourself into, and whether you want to find out about Greek history in the archaic period or merely be entertained by a wealth of beautifully-told anecdotes, Herodotus is the man for you. His merits are numerous - unlike Thucydides, his conception of history encompasses far more than the narrow realms of politics and wars, and he is happy to set differing traditions alongside one another and allow the reader to make up their own mind. As we move into a period when history is increasingly seen as "holistic", and away from the narrow Thucydidean conception of history, we increasingly learn to treasure Herodotus for what he is - the fossilized voice of an entire generation of men, living in an impossibly distant past, keeping us entertained with their fireside stories. All this is facilitated by Aubrey de Selincourt's fluent (if slightly free) translation. Superb.
Rating: 
Summary: The Link between Myth and Reality
Review: In this volume, Herodotus tells the histories of Greece and the surrounding areas. He provides a nice bridge from the ancient Greek myths unto the reality of what actually took place. He dispels myths where they seem absurd and tries to surmise the origins of others. Herodotus does a good job telling the customs and habits of the people he has observed. I give it 3 stars because with all the different names it is difficult to follow at times but the stories are very good.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just for Scholars
Review: Let's assume you are not a classics major, and you are not all that interested in military history. Should you read the "Histories" of Herodotus? The answer is a resounding "Yes", and here are some of the reasons why:
While the bulk of the book is devoted to the Persian Wars (and you certainly can skip over the catalogs and battle details) it's the digressions and anecdotes that make Herodotus fascinating reading. Dates, numbers and even names are often of dubious validity, so you need not waste a lot of time on them. The political, social, ethnographic and anthropological commentary is more intriguing, albeit frequently wide of the mark. But that is exactly why you should read it: what and where is "the mark"? If a sophisticated writer and traveler like H. accepted obvious whoppers at face value and passed them on to credulous readers - what does that tell us about our own credulity?
The intrigues and deceptions involved in forging alliances; the constant juggling of self-interest vs. "the greater good"; the importance of skillful rhetoric and propaganda in promoting one's cause; the treachery and rapaciousness of famous leaders like Themistocles, and the self-indulgence and hubris of splendid figures like Xerxes; the extreme dependence of Greeks and Persians alike on oracles and omens ( nowadays we call them "polls"): all these phenomena are uncomfortably familiar to us.
Once you have become engrossed in H.'s narrative, you may want to linger a little over some of the "human achievements" and "great and marvellous deeds" he promises to record. There is for instance the canal Xerxes is said to have constructed across Athos, in order to avoid circumnavigation of the peninsula - an engineering feat and display of hubris reminiscent of "Fitzcarraldo". Until recently, no trace of this technical marvel had been found. But lo: a team of British and Greek geophysicists has located the structure with seismic measurements, as reported in the "Journal of Applied Geophysics". So, while a healthy dose of skepticism is in order (as with all historiographic literature), some achievements that had been doubted by scholars may turn out to be "real" after all.
H. closes his wide-ranging narrative with a statement attributed to Cyrus, whom he credits with foresight and wisdom: "Soft countries breed soft men. It is not the property of any one soil to produce fine fruits and good soldiers too." Therefore "the Persians should choose to live in a rugged land and rule rather than to cultivate rich plains and be slaves to others". Now there is a thought worth pondering!
A smooth translation and an exemplary critical apparatus combine to engage the reader's curiosity and invite reflection.
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Summary: An ancient yet surprisingly readable history text!
Review: The Greek historian Herodotus penned The Histories about 2500 years ago, during the Peloponnesian War. He's known as the "Father of History" because he was the first major historian to attempt to explain historical events in the context of human politics and economics instead of the whims and fancies of mythological deities. Nevertheless, Herodotus was influenced greatly by his times anyway and puts much faith in oracles of the many gods the Greeks worshipped. The Histories is divided into nine "books". Herodotus covers ancient Greek and Middle Eastern history from the time of Croesus and Cyrus up through the great Persian Wars during the reigns of Darius and Xerxes. By this time, the Trojan War described in The Iliad is already almost ancient history to the Greeks! In addition, Herodotus goes into tons of delightful digressions on all sorts of topics and legends. He spends nearly 100 pages describing Egyptian history and customs. Surprisingly, this ancient work is immensely readable, thanks to the superb translation by Aubrey de Selincourt! As other reviewers have attested, modern history books are much duller and far too detached. Herodotus states his personal opinions on just about everything he describes, and it's largely those viewpoints that make the work so enjoyable. In addition, the endnotes in the Penguin edition (by John Marincola) are generally greatly illuminating and helpful. Keep in mind that despite the easily digestible prose, the book is hefty at over 600 pages including the endnotes. Also, there are no chapter breaks within the nine sections, so convenient stopping points that don't break the flow of the text aren't that common. So it may take you a while to get through. Highly recommended!
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Summary: . . . excellent for Graduate students and pundits as well.
Review: The Histories, as pointed out by a previous reviewer, are a vital text that every person who has succeeded in graduating high school should be exposed to. It should be included in all World Literature approaches, which is why, if you are reading this review for a reference or encouragement to read the Histories, take it just as that. I would simply like to stipulate that, while many view the book (as mentioned in previous reviews) as "fun" and for "the laymen," it is also a gateway to the classical works, of many that only lofty intellectuals clame credible interpretations; the rest of us laymens [sic] are in a state of perpetual comitatus. Herodutus is vital, credible (well, the read is credible), viable, and a neccesity to anyone who has an inkling of interest in the classics. If you fit in this category, READ THE BOOK!!
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