The Way of Herodotus: Travels with the Man Who Invented History - Hardcover

Marozzi, Justin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0306816210 ISBN 13: 9780306816215

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 2008

Synopsis

During the classical age of Greece, Herodotus wrote the first history text. But what he created was much more than this. Informed by his own travels, his historical work digresses more than it chronicles, with tales of the lands and peoples he visited. As Michael Ondaatje once famously suggested, What you find in him are the cul-de-sacs within the sweep of history.”

In The Way of Herodotus , intrepid travel historian Justin Marozzi retraces the footsteps of Herodotus through the Mediterranean and Middle East, examining his 2,500-year-old observations about the cultures and places he visited, and finding echoes of his legacy reverberating to this day. It is a lively yet thought-provoking excursion into the world of Herodotus, with the man who invented history ever present, guiding the narrative with his discursive spirit.

About this title

About the Author:

Justin Marozzi is a writer, journalist, and historian who has traveled extensively throughout the Herodotean world. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Tamerlane . He lives in London.

From Booklist:

Marozzi notes that Herodotus was the first historian, travel writer, anthropologist, political theorist, foreign correspondent, and prose stylist. During the classical age of the fifth century BC, Herodotus wrote the first history text, known as the Histories. Marozzi calls it a masterpiece on the grandest scale, a chronological history of the Persian wars. Marozzi examines Herodotus’ 2,500-year observations about the cultures and places he visited. The author sees Herodotus as “an aspiring geographer, a budding moralist, a skillful dramatist, a high-spirited explorer, and an inveterate storyteller; part learned scholar, part tabloid hack, but always broad-minded.” Marozzi’s research included more than 100 books and articles. The result is an imposing and remarkable travel history. --George Cohen

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0306816210
• ISBN 13: 9780306816215
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384