Rating: 
Summary: Father of History...and Tourism
Review: The Histories is commonly thought of as the classic chronicle of the great 5th century BCE wars between the underdog confederacy of Greek city-states and the mighty Persian Empire. To the modern reader of military history, this implies an overriding focus on causes, strategy and tactics as well as detailed, extensive descriptions of pivotal battles. Herodotus, commonly referred to as the "father of history," takes a much broader approach with his work. While he does cover the heroic battles of Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis and Plateau, their treatment is surprisingly shallow, with the bulk of the book dedicated to narration of the gathering storm of Persian power and related expository coverage of the many lands, nations and peoples, intrigues, power struggles and heroic achievements of classical times. Contemporary expectations aside, this is a fascinating book, consistently entertaining and, with proper attention to editor John Marincola's notes, highly educational.Herodotus covers a remarkable swath of time and space, ranging from Egyptian pharaohs from c. 3000 BCE to the final expulsion of the Persians from European soil in 479 BCE and from Libya in the west to India in the south to central Asia in the east and Thrace in the north. His recurrent thematic elements include justice through vengeance, the contrast between free and enslaved peoples, the power of the gods as expressed through oracles, the constantly shifting fortunes of mankind and the disastrous consequences of arrogance and excessive pride. Herodotus has been described elsewhere as the world's first tourist, a reflection of his apparently wide travel, fascination with other cultures and careful reporting of wondrous facts from the far corners of the world. His story of the primary conflict is frequently interrupted by discussions of the customs of numerous tribes and peoples. Through these interludes we learn that the Persians get drunk to discuss all important decisions, the Lydians prostitute their daughters to raise money for dowries, the Babylonians bury their dead in honey, the Egyptians bathe in cold water four times per day, the Scythians drink the blood of the first man they kill and the Gyzantes paint themselves red and eat monkeys. Despite his "father of history" title, Herodotus retains several characteristics of earlier oral and written taletellers, including imagined dialogue to lend drama and human texture to events. He is also, whether from poor sources or conscious guesswork, frequently inaccurate in his depictions. To assist the reader in separating fact from fiction and illuminating those issues where scholars disagree, Marincola has in this Penguin Classics edition added an explanatory Introduction and extensive end-notes (627 in total). Reading the notes definitely disrupts the flow of the story but I found them essential to reading The Histories as anything more than a work of fiction. While the Aubrey De Selincourt translation is extremely readable and, as noted above, the Marincola additions are immensely helpful, this edition suffers from a paucity of good maps. The four that are included are very helpful in keeping track of the large number of no longer existing states and peoples and their geographic relation to each other and to natural landmarks. However, there are numerous cities referenced in the text yet not shown on the maps. More significantly, there are no maps to show in detail the settings of the major battles. This omission, combined with Herodotus' rather sketchy rendering, makes it difficult to holistically visualize the battles. Notwithstanding these relatively minor issues, The Histories is highly recommended. It is impossible to read without increasing one's recognition of our heritage of rampant, pervasive superstition and lives lived under the constant threat of violence and deepening one's appreciation of the tenuous nature of liberty.
Rating:
Summary: Father of History...and Tourism
Review: The Histories is commonly thought of as the classic chronicle of the great 5th century BCE wars between the underdog confederacy of Greek city-states and the mighty Persian Empire. To the modern reader of military history, this implies an overriding focus on causes, strategy and tactics as well as detailed, extensive descriptions of pivotal battles. Herodotus, commonly referred to as the "father of history," takes a much broader approach with his work. While he does cover the heroic battles of Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis and Plateau, their treatment is surprisingly shallow, with the bulk of the book dedicated to narration of the gathering storm of Persian power and related expository coverage of the many lands, nations and peoples, intrigues, power struggles and heroic achievements of classical times. Contemporary expectations aside, this is a fascinating book, consistently entertaining and, with proper attention to editor John Marincola's notes, highly educational. Herodotus covers a remarkable swath of time and space, ranging from Egyptian pharaohs from c. 3000 BCE to the final expulsion of the Persians from European soil in 479 BCE and from Libya in the west to India in the south to central Asia in the east and Thrace in the north. His recurrent thematic elements include justice through vengeance, the contrast between free and enslaved peoples, the power of the gods as expressed through oracles, the constantly shifting fortunes of mankind and the disastrous consequences of arrogance and excessive pride. Herodotus has been described elsewhere as the world's first tourist, a reflection of his apparently wide travel, fascination with other cultures and careful reporting of wondrous facts from the far corners of the world. His story of the primary conflict is frequently interrupted by discussions of the customs of numerous tribes and peoples. Through these interludes we learn that the Persians get drunk to discuss all important decisions, the Lydians prostitute their daughters to raise money for dowries, the Babylonians bury their dead in honey, the Egyptians bathe in cold water four times per day, the Scythians drink the blood of the first man they kill and the Gyzantes paint themselves red and eat monkeys. Despite his "father of history" title, Herodotus retains several characteristics of earlier oral and written taletellers, including imagined dialogue to lend drama and human texture to events. He is also, whether from poor sources or conscious guesswork, frequently inaccurate in his depictions. To assist the reader in separating fact from fiction and illuminating those issues where scholars disagree, Marincola has in this Penguin Classics edition added an explanatory Introduction and extensive end-notes (627 in total). Reading the notes definitely disrupts the flow of the story but I found them essential to reading The Histories as anything more than a work of fiction. While the Aubrey De Selincourt translation is extremely readable and, as noted above, the Marincola additions are immensely helpful, this edition suffers from a paucity of good maps. The four that are included are very helpful in keeping track of the large number of no longer existing states and peoples and their geographic relation to each other and to natural landmarks. However, there are numerous cities referenced in the text yet not shown on the maps. More significantly, there are no maps to show in detail the settings of the major battles. This omission, combined with Herodotus' rather sketchy rendering, makes it difficult to holistically visualize the battles. Notwithstanding these relatively minor issues, The Histories is highly recommended. It is impossible to read without increasing one's recognition of our heritage of rampant, pervasive superstition and lives lived under the constant threat of violence and deepening one's appreciation of the tenuous nature of liberty.
Rating: 
Summary: Obviously the reviewer above me doesn't "get it"
Review: The person who wrote that "Herodotues was on the joke," because someone "was in love with his own wife" obviously doesn't understand that throughout history, especially in ancient times, marriage was not about "love," it was about gaining land, wealth, and family ties. Therefore, it could be considered rare and special when someone is "in love with their own wife." In other words...DUH! Think a little bit!
Rating:
Summary: Obviously the reviewer above me doesn't "get it"
Review: The person who wrote that "Herodotues was on the joke," because someone "was in love with his own wife" obviously doesn't understand that throughout history, especially in ancient times, marriage was not about "love," it was about gaining land, wealth, and family ties. Therefore, it could be considered rare and special when someone is "in love with their own wife." In other words...DUH! Think a little bit!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book
Review: This is simply a wonderful book and an entertaining read. Herodotus set out to do for the Persian wars what Homer did for the Trojan war. The Homeric elements are apparent throughout the book. To a very real extent, partly because of his huge popularity down through the ages, Herodotus defines the stage upon which we all act even today. Only the last 75-100 pages are marred buy the influence of the anti-Spartan/pro-Athenian sentiment of his time.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book
Review: This is simply a wonderful book and an entertaining read. Herodotus set out to do for the Persian wars what Homer did for the Trojan war. The Homeric elements are apparent throughout the book. To a very real extent, partly because of his huge popularity down through the ages, Herodotus defines the stage upon which we all act even today. Only the last 75-100 pages are marred buy the influence of the anti-Spartan/pro-Athenian sentiment of his time.
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