A small excerpt from Herodotus` Histories about a mad Persian king. It might be the translation but it`s a very boring and bumpy read. ( )

If you like your history straightforward and decisive, Herodotus probably won't be your cup of tea. If, however, you are fine with a leisurely meander, full of odd digressions and random facts, and if, like me, you are delighted with a storyteller/historian who says things like, “Now I don't actually think this is true but it's so wonderfully odd that I have to tell you about it!” you'll probably find Herodotus loads of fun.

This Penguin “Little Black Classics” edition is a selection from Tom Holland's recent translation of Herodotus's The Histories, and features the action packed reign of the Persian monarch... Cambyses (you'd guessed that though, right?). Actually, this is Cambyses II, son of Cyrus the Great, and he died (of a self-inflicted wound, which must have annoyed the heck out of him) about one hundred years before Herodotus wrote his history. So there is a generous lot of wiggle room about the facts in his story, and Herodotus, being Herodotus, offers us pretty much all the possibilities. He tells which ones he thinks are plausible and which ones are not so terribly likely, but he's allergic to leaving things out. He wanders off down little rabbit trails of myths, customs, and folklore, and he includes irrelevant but interesting vignettes of “little” lives and ordinary people which add depth and vibrancy to his history that a more direct telling could never offer.

Herodotus seems to be one of those authors people either love or hate (“Father of History” or “Father of Lies”), but for readers who are already familiar with the general history of this period (this will not likely appeal to those with no ancient history background, but a little will suffice, and this short selection includes cameo appearances by the Apis bull, the Spartans, Croesus, and more, which is fun!) who would like a taste of Herodotus, to see how he goes down, this entry in the Penguin “Little Black Classics” series (No. 78) is a perfect sample! ( )

Yet another nut-bag left in charge of an empire. It really does make you wonder how we ever managed to get out of the stone age. It is interesting but the style of the writing is cumbersome and occasionally confusing. ( )

Full review to come! ( )