Penguin Classics Histories: Amazon.ca: Herodotus, Selincourt De: Books

Product Description

During the fifth century BC, a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city-states united to repel a mighty Persian army. While the story of this heroic drama forms the main theme of Herodotus' narrative, the author's curiosity fleshes out the text with digressions, folk tales and stories.

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

29 Reviews

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (29 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars . . . excellent for Graduate students and pundits as well., Dec 25 2002

By

Jason Princeton (Chattanooga, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Penguin Classics Histories (Paperback)

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!!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book by our Father of History, Oct 13 2002

By

Bunny Bear (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Penguin Classics Histories (Paperback)

This book rocks the bookshelf! Not only do you get history, you get zoology, anthropology, myth, and geography. There are many funny things too. You will read about the gold digging ants and the ox that cooks itself. The history concerning the great Persian Wars are spiced up with the dramatics and an exaggeration of numbers. Herodotus believes that Xerses invading army was 3,000,000 strong not including the fleet. The army was so big that it took one week to cross the bridge over the Hellespont and they drank whole rivers dry, according to Herodotus. Read about the heroes of Marathon and Thermopylae in this epic battle between East and West. This is surely a classic for all the ages. Read it today!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for undergraduates and the layperson, Sep 17 2002

By

TammyJo Eckhart "TammyJo Eckhart" (Bloomington, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Penguin Classics Histories (Paperback)

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.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 29 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 36 reviews 4.8 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for Scholars
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? Read more

Published on July 21 2002 by Wiltrud Goldschmidt

4.0 out of 5 stars Herodotus is the father of history, but tread with caution
Herodotus is a great historian of the ancient world and he'll go off on long tangents about various people. Read more

Published on July 16 2002 by nukemind