Pagan Holiday : On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists

Rating:
Summary: Who knew? Those dang Romans wrote the first guidebooks!
Review: Written in the style and maturity of an undergraduate term paper, and just as boring. The author opens each chapter with a short anecdote from his trip, usually about his girlfriend, and then proceeds to fill several pages with tired and repetitive historical information. At times I found myself wondering if the author actually had made the trip, as his anecdotes were so trite (read the section on a diving expedition). His traveling companion girlfriend comes across as the more interesting of the pair, but can't save this narrative from tedium.
Try something by William Dalrymple instead

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Written in the style and maturity of an undergraduate term paper, and just as boring. The author opens each chapter with a short anecdote from his trip, usually about his girlfriend, and then proceeds to fill several pages with tired and repetitive historical information. At times I found myself wondering if the author actually had made the trip, as his anecdotes were so trite (read the section on a diving expedition). His traveling companion girlfriend comes across as the more interesting of the pair, but can't save this narrative from tedium.
Try something by William Dalrymple instead