I didn't choose this book myself, though I am trying to read all the books we have in the house, so I would have got to it eventually, but it's the first book that Big C has finished in ages, and he enjoyed it and recommended it.
The best things about this book are:
- that I learned loads
- that I definitely want to travel to Greece, Turkey and Egypt and see more of the places described
- that I want to read more about the History and mythology of this part of the world.
It's basically a travel book, but it's hinged around the writings and travels of Herodotus, which means that there is a lot of history and also a real sense of fun and adventure (it seems that Herodotus had a habit of spicing up his "Histories" with entertaining anecdotes).
There were several times as I read the book that I wished I had both a dictionary and an encyclopedia, and Big C said that he wished he had a map to refer to when he was reading. Justin Marozzi has an enviable vocabulary, and he also refers to a wide variety of subjects. I may well return to this book more slowly in the future, and with the reference books to hand.
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