This book was a tough sit, but only because of all of the place and people names. It was quite enchanting to read the stories of how Greece and some of the lands around it were supposed to have come into being.

The Histories is split into nine books. This particular edition also contains information on the units of measure that they use along with terms of money and other such things, since they have cubits and fingers and talents and such things that I have no reference to. The first few books talk about the history of some places along with the sometimes fanciful origin of those places. So we have a unique mixture of fact and fiction that makes the book rather charming in some ways. The book proceeds with talking about places, their origins and cultural practices until it gets to the wars that were fought by King Xerxes against the Athenians and their allies.

The war between King Xerxes and Greece takes up three of the nine books and covers most of the details that are important. The book includes maps and other information too. Before that, it builds up how Persia was formed. All in all a great book. ( )