This book has been published under various titles always with wonderful illustrations but it is fifty years or more since it was written and it's apprThis book has been published under various titles always with wonderful illustrations but it is fifty years or more since it was written and it's approach is so out-of-date as to almost laughable. The author Michael Grant was a great classicist but a man whose education came before WWII. His attitudes are influenced by the world he was born and grew up in. He can't escape it, in fact we all influenced whether we like it or not by our early life, and many of the attitudes and presumptions he displays towards matters sexual are no longer ones most people would accept.
So the pictures are lovely but the book is a mediocre disappointment....more
Of course this book is grotesquely out-of-date, particularly in its phrasing and attitudes, but I read as a child/teenager and loved it. It was the boOf course this book is grotesquely out-of-date, particularly in its phrasing and attitudes, but I read as a child/teenager and loved it. It was the book the brought archeology alive to me as a ten year old and even more so as it was clearly not written for ten year olds. That is why I purchased a copy and reread parts - complete immersion in nostalgia and Proustian memory. It may not be my madeleine but it is part of who I am, or certainly what formed me (though considering what a dweeb it made me maybe not - but then again I learnt other things which it would take a few years to process!) I can't say it is a book for ten year olds to read today, but it won't do them any harm and if it kindles a love of archeology, classical art, history and literature then it will have done its job.
A load of stories, most with a sexual dimension, vaguely related to history but honestly it is rather trite and stupid. If you found it in a doctor's A load of stories, most with a sexual dimension, vaguely related to history but honestly it is rather trite and stupid. If you found it in a doctor's waiting room it would pass the time. But spend money on it? I don't think so....more
As a child and teenager I was very interested in archeology and read much about the pioneers in the fields - and one of the men who was always mentionAs a child and teenager I was very interested in archeology and read much about the pioneers in the fields - and one of the men who was always mentioned was Heinrich Schliemann - one of my favorite acquisitions when I was about 14 was a book by Robert Payne called 'The Gold of Troy' which was all about Schliemann's life and the discovery of Troy.
It is amazing how long the 'legends' (or lies if one is being blunt) that Schliemann wove about his life were allowed to remain uncritically on record. Even the foundation of his 'myth' the young child presented with a copy of Homer and arguing that the illustrated walls could not all have bee3n destroyed and vowing to find them. All tosh, like his stories of surviving fire in San Francisco, meeting the American president and so much more. The problem is that being a persistent liar is a problem when it comes to judging the reliability of his archeological record. The 'treasure of Priam' was neither discovered in the company of his wife or in the place he claimed. While the objects are most likely genuine, as are those he found at Mycenae, there are doubts as to whether he found them were he said he did. Schliemann great discoveries are revealed as having a unfortunate habit of occurring when he was alone, just before the digging season ended.
This is a great book and although it comprehensively debunks the Schliemann myth - he does it well and without any distortions or journalistic distortions. If you are interested in archeology, the discoveries at Troy or Mycenae or in the old fraud himself you will enjoy this book....more
Loading...
