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Summary: Edifying Delight
Review: A combination Hericlitus, John Cleese, and Paul and Jane Bowles, wry raconteur and classicist Tony Perrottet leads the reader on a hilarious history lesson into the sometimes disconcertingly familiar customs of the ancient Roman tourist. Leaving no stone unturned-the prurient, ponderous, and enlightening all get their due-Perrottet is liable to make you laugh so hard that you'll forget you're learning something. The New York Times was right: whether or not you're planning on spending your leisure time on the Mediterranean this summer, bring this book with you wherever you go. It's quite simply one of the season's most entertaining and edifying reads.
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Summary: On the Trail of a Good Summer Read
Review: A friend who knew I often travel in Italy gave this book to me as a birthday gift. I loved it! I really enjoyed the original idea behind Route 66, and the writer's easy-going style engaged me from the beginning. Historical tidbits about ancient travel and society (along with the personal journey of two people moving closer to parenthood) kept me turning pages. Several witty observations about the world and life had me laughing aloud. I would certainly suggest this book to others, especially those who have traveled in the Mediterranean or who plan to do so in the future. (And, really, who hasn't or doesn't?)
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Summary: Makes History Come Alive!
Review: As a history enthusiast, with a particular fascination for Ancient Rome, I thought this book was WONDERFUL! Part travelogue, part enchanting history lesson, this fascinating book makes both the Mediterranean and ancient history come alive! I zipped through this book in no time at all. A painless, entertaining read that enables one to get to know our Roman forebearers better. Bravo!!!
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Summary: Delight for classicists & travelers
Review: As an archaeologist, when I travel I'm often looking for what this author is describing! If you've traveled the Mediterranean or are particularly interested in antiquities, this is a superb book. His mixture of the autobiographical, a young man with girl friend on the cheap, and in-put of some excellent classical authors is unique and often laugh-aloud funny. Possibly better if you have visited these places but would be fun to have under your arm for first time visits.
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Summary: Tourist traps of the gods
Review: At first glance, this book is a simple travelogue of the Mediterranean (Rome, Greece, Egypt), but what makes the book really neat is that Perrottet decided to travel the same path trodden by ancient Roman tourists.
He quotes liberally from old Roman tour guides and brings to life an ancient world of tourism surprisingly similar to ours. Obnoxious tour guides, hotel ranking systems, road maps, crappy souvenirs, tourist traps, and even the hassles of renting cars (wagons) are as old as the age of the Caesars. It is almost frightening how close our world is to the world of these Roman tourists. If you are into ancient history, travel, or any combination thereof, "Route 66 AD" is worth picking up. There not a dry passage in the book. Perrottet is an entertaining, informative and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny author.
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Summary: Ancient Rome at High Speed
Review: Great title, I had to read this book on that basis alone. But now I see that the paperback edition has been renamed Pagan Holiday. Ecch.
I don't know if Perrottet had any say in what his book was called, but taking his pregnant girlfriend on a cheap and energetic tour of Rome is something he did have control over. I'm sure he was exaggerating for comic effect, but Perrottet comes across as being a bit too macho Aussie. The hotels he and girlfriend Les stayed in are squalid and uncomfortable. Les tries her best to keep up with him on his Roman walkabouts, but she is apparently not in Olympic form in her later months of pregnancy. Is he crazy? Is she crazy? According to the book jacket they're married now, so maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed.
The idea of retracing the ancient Roman route and describing it then and now was a good one, like those books they sell at Pompeii, with photos of the ruins of Pompeii today, and overlays showing Pompeii as it was in 79 A.D. Perrottet is enthusiastic, if a bit impatient, and has an infectious affection for ancient Rome.
So, if you can put aside your sympathy for Les, you will enjoy Route 66 A.D. Or Pagan Holiday. Whatever.
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Summary: Got a Kick Out of Route 66 (A.D.)
Review: Great title, I had to read this book on that basis alone. But now I see that the paperback edition has been renamed Pagan Holiday. Ecch.
I don't know if Perrottet had any say in what his book was called, either time, but taking his pregnant girlfriend on a cheap and energetic tour of Rome is something he did have control over. I'm sure he was exaggerating for comic effect, but Perrottet came across as being a bit too macho Aussie. The hotels he and girlfriend Les stayed in were squalid and uncomfortable. Les tried her best to keep up with him on his Roman walkabouts, but she was apparently not in Olympic form in her later months of pregnancy. But they got married according to the book jacket, so maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed. The idea of retracing the ancient Roman route and describing it then and now was a good one, a bit like those books they sell at Pompeii, with photos of the ruins of Pompeii today, and overlays showing Pompeii as it was in 79 A.D. Perrottet is enthusiastic, if a bit impatient, and has an infectious affection for ancient Rome. So, if you can put aside any overt sympathy for Les, you will enjoy Route 66 A.D. Or Pagan Holiday. Whatever.
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Summary: Via Appia
Review: I have spent the last few weeks reading this great book and just finished it. The idea that ancient Romans had to go through some of the same things we go through as tourists is incredible. The author puts a somewhat funny spin on his travels throughout the Mediterranean, but along the way he tells stories of ancient tourists like Seneca, Titus, Nero, and Vespasian. So you actually get two stories in one. His modern day travels and the travels of the ancients. It is interesting that the Romans had things like road side rest areas, mile markers on the roads, and star type ratings for lodging. They also had to put up with the same kind of things you put up with today when you travel around the Med. Beggars and scammers at the port, long lines to see anything, bad food, and all of this without air conditioning. He describes what the areas were like so well that you can really get a feel for what it may have been like during Roman times. He describes Rome as the New York City of the day and Naples as the Hamptons and Baiea as Daytona Beach just to name a few. His travels take him from Rome to Naples to Brindisi via the Appian Way, then he sails to Greece and the islands, then to Turkey. The author has several humorous and interesting anecdotes as well. Just to share one...He tells of how Julius Caesar was captured by pirates and held for ransom on his way to Rhodes. After they had got to port and the pirates received the ransom Julius told them he was going to find them, get the ransom back, and kill every last one of them. He did just that; hired a fleet, tracked the pirates, got the ransom back, and nailed them all to a cross old school style. A very enjoyable read and recommended for anyone interested in ancient social history as well as for anyone who has traveled around the Med.
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Summary: Who knew? Those dang Romans wrote the first guidebooks!
Review: I have to say, I loved this book. Who knew the Romans were responsible for all our tourist foibles -- writing the first guidebooks, making the first souvenirs, building the first shonky hotels. I enjoyed how the classical history was brought to life by connections with the modern times -- it was done with great humor (especially the chapter on hiking in Arcadia in Greece, a place I happen to have been -- the author meets up with a mad monk in the middle of nowhere, and has a very funny discussion about the philosophical meaning of travel, ancient and modern, eastern and Western). It's all fascinating stuff!
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Summary: Pagan Holiday
Review: I loved this book! I knew the Romans liked a good drink but had no idea they were quite so curious and intellectually voracious -- they traveled around to all the great sights of the Empire (the Seven Wonders tour) and managed to invent on the way guidebooks, souvenirs and shoddy hotels! The author does a great job of bringing history to life by making connections to the present -- and with a great sense of humor. My favorite chapter was in Arcadia (Greece), which I've been to -- Perrottet (sp?) runs into a mad monk in the middle of a thunderstorm, and ends up deep in a philosophical discussion on the meaning of travel, ancient and modern. It really is a great way to learn about things that every educated person should already know... (Petronius, Seneca and all the gang -- I vaguely knew who they were, but now they're like old drinking pals!)
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