Rating: 
Summary: The Diary Road Not Taken
Review: Route 66 A.D. joins a short list of peripetic books about visiting Italy (and in this case, points further south). There seem to quite a few books about owning a villa, restoring a farmhouse, or living in one city for a spell (cf. "Bella Tuscany," "A Garden in Lucca", or "Seasons in Rome").
There is a much smaller--and in many ways more interesting-- category of first-person travel writing, that accompanies a tourist as he/she moves about a country, exploring and discovering things en route. Route 66 A.D. falls in this second, slim category, along with such books as "Piazzas and Pizzas" and "Italian Days." Books in this "personal travel journal" category are ultimately judged not only by the depth and quality of the writing about the destinations, but also by what the author tells (or does not tell) about him/herself, as well.
By this standard, Route 66 A.D. is only partially successful, because I really didn't care about the whole premise of the book, or the author himself. The writing is witty at times, and he does tell us something about ancient civilizations. But in the end, I just didn't really care that much about many the history lessons or his attempts to be a Richard Halliburton of the modern era. Ultimately, I was left with an odd mixture of fact and journal, neither of which was as personally satisfying as I would have liked.
Rating: 
Summary: Pagan Holiday
Review: There were moments that I laughed out loud, and then there were moments that I felt the copy dragged a little bit. But overall, not a bad read. Les, his pregnant girlfriend is amazingly tolerant. Thought it was strange that she felt that she couldn't stick around for the English-speaking monk in Greece
for fear that he might convert her, but then she volunteerily consumes a meal prepard by an obviously ill man in Turkey ("he wiped his nose on the back of his hand and continued to cook"). No big surprise that she turns up deathly ill the next day, but she wanted to maintain diplomacy. There were some great literary quotes in the book, references to Homer, and a lot of fun trivia.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a real page turner...
Review: This book bounces between the author's own trip.. which is not particularly interesting... and very brief histories of what Roman tourists were experiencing in the same places. Don't know where he got his info about the Romans but often seems like it is just copied out of some local travel brochure or a history book from the library. Not really in-depth enough to make it interesting ... for me anyway. Too bad, I was really looking forward to reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Disappointment
Review: This book was recommended by a friend who knows of my fondness for ancient Greece and Rome, and I picked it up with a lot of anticipation. Alas, it proved a great disappointment. I didn't really learn anything new from this book. OK, it's not the author's fault; I've got shelves of books on the ancient world in my library. He also intrudes with too much boring detail of his own trip, and I felt sorry for his pregnant girlfriend whom he dragged through this exercise. What bothered me the most though were inaccuracies and inept metaphors, to the point that I distrusted the author's ability to present things accurately. For example: Chapter "At Poseidon's Mercy", p 192, describing an ancient voyage, "...the polestar, used by sailors for navigation..."
Sorry, there was no polestar at the time, due to precession. The author's in good company though, Shakespeare made the same mistake in Julius Caesar. Same chapter, p 203, "At the beginning of time, Delos had been one of the many floating islands of the Aegean, wandering the sea as unfixed as the stars..." What? Doesn't he know that the ancients referred to 'the fixed stars' as the very model of unchanging permanence? Chapter "Asian Seductions", p 214, describing how much more relaxed Turkey was after Greece, "...it felt like the barometric pressure had suddenly dropped." Doesn't he know that this presages a storm? I could go on. I admit these bothered me because of my background in science and may be seen as quibbles by some. But it calls into question the research effort the author made and his reliability. The whole tone of the book bespeaks a hasty effort. It could also have used better editing, e.g. Homer born in 750 A.D.? I don't think so. It's a typo but should have been caught.
Rating: 
Summary: A hoot for any traveler
Review: This has got to be the most original travel book I've ever read. I bought it because I've been to Italy and Egypt, and am planning a visit to Greece this summer, but I think anyone with a love of travel would enjoy it. It makes ancient history alive and accessible (I used to love 'I, Claudius') through human interest -- sightseeing, food, a fair bit of sex (who knew the Romans were THAT ribald?) I learned a huge amount about the Roman world without even realizing it -- the small details pile up until you feel like you've actually been to the Empire yourself! Anyway, I thought it was a hoot. The bit at the end about his visit to a Nubian wedding actually made me cry with laughter.
Rating:
Summary: Stay home and read it.
Review: This is a good antidote to the travel bug, as it describes the discomforts of no star hotels and slow trains in Italy. Turkey, Greece and Egypt with a pregnant mate. (Like other reviewers I'd love to hear her side of the story but it may be a deliberate part of Perrottet's artistry that we are left largely to imagine this).
As the title suggests, the theme is ancient Roman tourism, about which he is knowledgeable and entertaining. He is linked to these lands by being a classical scholar and the grandson of an ANZAC hero killed at Gallipoli. These two things separate him from the mere purveyors of comic travel anecdotes in the tradition of Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad" but he is also tremendously funny. He is a master of the "didn't seem funny at the time" story, like the description of the Egyptian train journey and the telephone calls about disasters in his New York apartment.
A nice last sentence.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended to one and all.
Review: This is a simply enjoyable yarn relating the tourist experiences of Tony Perrottet and his girlfriend Lesley while following the well trodden route of Roman tourists in the 200 years of peace between about 5BC and 190 AD, where the European world enjoyed its longest period without war in history. Its a real plus for civilisation even if it is enforced. Using the travel guides and informative experiences of the ancient travellers such as Pliny the Elder, Tacitus and Aristides, the author follows in their footsteps, first visiting Rome, their starting point, and then proceeding to Greece, Turkey and finally Egypt stopping along the way at sights such as Naples, Pompeii, Athens, Troy, and Alexandria. In a very witty way Perrottet explores the similarities and differences of the experiences from milennium to milenium. Amazingly he takes along with him his pregnant girlfriend who somehow drags herself from site to site without any major complaints, how she does it is a miracle in itself. But she does state: "No squalor, no terror" as a requirement, unfortunately this can't quite be satisfied in countries which are more third world than first. Some lines throughout are just wonderful, such as the meeting of two cleaning attendants who belong in a Siberian mental hospital. The book is full of these hilarious experiences, and not only in the modern era but ancient ones as well. The book itself is a gem and combines both travel writing and history in a well put together guide for the perplexed of either era. One also gets a feeling that as the pregnancy wore on during the travelling and things became more difficult, both hormonally and physically, Perrottet became far more concerned for her safety and had less time to spend on the actual travel experiences. It seems that he wrote notes as he proceeded from place to place and by the end one can notice how his witty repartee is somewhat dulled by the impending birth of their child and the unlucky destruction of their apartment at home. All in all worth every cent and recommended to one and all.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant idea that is well executed
Review: This is a truely a very enjoyable piece of history and travel writing showing that we are not that far from the ancient Romans who had their own travelling itches to scratch. It tells of a journey from Rome through Italy and onto Greece and Turkey and then to Egypt. Perrottet is an engaging writer and can mix history and anecdotes together beautifully. The complaints ofthe Romans should very similar to today's tourists. I enjoyed the stories of his long suffering girl friend and their often hilarious adventures. The chapter on Capri is a great tale. Having just completed the Italian leg of the journey, Perrottet is often spot on in his descriptions of Naples and Capri. I like the way Perrottet blended in the stories of the present with travel stories of the past. A very intelligent and funny book that is highly enjoyable on every level. As an Australian reader, I liked the way he linked the site of Gallopoli to the main narrative and showed that for all our civilisation, we have moved only a short distance from the Romans.
Rating:
Summary: He Came, He Saw, She Concurred....
Review: This is the best travel book I've read in a long, long time. Mr. Perrottet seamlessly joins together information about ancient Roman tourists with amusing, wry commentary on his current-day efforts to follow in their footsteps. The book is entertaining as well as educational. I've read the other reviews of this book that are posted at this webpage and they are very good.....so I hesitated about putting in my "two cents". However, I enjoyed the book so much that in the end I felt I had to write something! What can I add to what has been said already? Well, one of the many interesting parts of the book is when Tony and his girlfriend Lesley make their way to the misty and mystical mountains of Arcadia, in Greece. They visit a monastery, and Tony has a philosophical conversation with Brother Yianni, a young English speaking monk. To quote from the book: "He (Yianni) peered at me significantly. 'I wearied of so much searching. Moving about the world like....a ghost. The Chinese philosophers say: When you are restless, stand still; when you are at peace, then move.' 'I know the theory.' I flinched, a little suspicious that this was a prepared spiel to convert wayward travelers. 'Personally, I'm quite a fan of senseless movement. I find it therapeutic.' Brother Yianni smiled indulgently. 'One who travels is running away from something. As much as any drunkard.' There was something appealingly surreal about debating the value of travel with a monk in the mountains of Arcadia. It's an age-old argument, and one that certainly went on among ancient Romans. At the birth of cultural tourism, there was no shortage of world wanderers who, after their journeys, discovered that they had found no inner contentment or wisdom." But in the space of a few pages the author can go from sobering philosophical discussion to the following description as he and Lesley "hit the beach" at Mykonos: "Super-Paradise (the name of the beach!) was certainly something to behold. Every inch of the rapidly eroding shoreline was covered with blue plastic chairs; on top of these were hundreds of bronzed nightclubbers trying to sleep off their hangovers. This must have been difficult, given the cacophonous activity in the water. There were water-skiers, hang gliders, and plastic bananas, all being dragged around by speedboats; Jet Skis roared, outboards whined. But more impressive, right behind the beach were six disco bars, each with its own DJ, each competing to blast techno rhythms into our sun-addled brains." It's not easy to combine the historical information with the contemporary travelogue, but Mr. Perrottet pulls it off quite well! It's really a tribute to his organizational skills and sheer writing ability. I'd love to read a novel by him! He has wonderful powers of observation and the ability to translate what he sees into prose that is, all at the same time, quirky, poignant and profound. If I had one regret after finishing this book, (beside the fact that I'd finished it!) it was that we didn't get to know more about Lesley. She walked countless miles alongside the author, endured hot and cold, rain and seasickness, and staying in some fleabag hotels. All while advancing through her pregnancy! Must be quite a lady.....
Rating:
Summary: Imagining the past--Not a stodgy history
Review: Tony Perrottet has given us a book that bridges good historiography and travel writing--it is intelligent and an entertaining read. I read it over weeks, taking dips into it between tasks, reading gobbets of it without intending to. It is full of wonderfully researched classicist details and relays a compelling story--with the narrator often comparing present Mediterranean tourism with that of the distant past. Perrottet gives a wonderfully fresh perspective on the backyard of Rome, bringing us along a tourist trail that is certainly well beaten. To make this material fresh and new is remarkable. His comparisons reveal as much about his sense of humor as they do about the customs and habits (not always attractive) of the ancient "spectatores" and "viatores" (sightseers and tourists). The voluminous and relevant research is presented by the first person narrator and would never be presented as cogently or as compellingly in an academic history. What he includes (and revels in) are details often discarded from standard histories--descriptions of Greek sideshows and "fleshpots" along with more mundane things like where they ate and how much they paid. A great read.
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