20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Translation, March 17, 2006
An excellent translation of Comnena's work, remains true to the original Greek while providing good equivalents for the more difficult idiomatic expressions. Also includes a couple of very helpful maps and appendices. A wonderful read for anyone interested in Byzantine history.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Putting the "Byzantine" in Byzantine Politics, January 30, 2006
In this history the Emperor Alexius comes across as a sort of medievil Lee Iacoca or Carlos Gohsn, who through very delicate wheeling and dealing manages to bring back a floundering empire from the brink. Since Anna was the emperor's daughter, we could expect a hagliography from her, but that would discredit her intensely perceptive analysis of the political situation as well as her own personal experiences with many of the major players or others who knew them. It would also ignore the fact that this book is in many ways a treatise by Anna on what it means to be a good ruler, as exemplified through the person of Alexius.
Excellent book for history buffs and people looking for examples of great leadership.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A nice improvement on a good edition, December 5, 2011
This review is from: The Alexiad (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
As usual, I am not reviewing Anna Komnene as an historian. I am reviewing this particular edition of her work.
This is a relatively recent edition of the 'Alexiad'. While the core of E.R.A. Sewter's 1969 translation remains in place, many changes have been made and they are all good. The first, and most visually obvious, is the jacket. The 2003 edition of the Alexiad featured a figure in mosaic, which the book identified as Alexios Komnenos, as depicted in a 12th c. mosaic in the Hagia Sophia. This isn't entirely wrong, in that the mosaic is of Alexios Komnenos, it's just the wrong one. The figure depicted was Alexios, son of John II Komnenos and heir-apparent until his early death. His mosaic is attached but is rotated 90 degrees from the famous mosaic panel of his parents, making the mis-identification understandable for a badly-informed tourist guide, but not a serious publication. Thankfully, Penguin has fixed this issue and replaced the cover image with a high-quality picture (the coin it is a picture of is about the size of a thumbnail) of one of Alexios I Komnenos' hyperpyra (meaning: fire-refined) coins. The new editor, Oxford's Peter Frankopan has also adopted a more regular transliteration style based upon that used in the
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (3-Volume Set), in place of Sewter's original Latin-based transliteration style. These changes extend into the text as well, which generally seems to be mostly unchanged, although Frankopan's updates allow for more precision. Titles and important Greek terms are left transliterated.
The book's appendices are also much overhauled. Rather than work too hard, the original 'Alexiad' borrowed a few appendices from Sewter's earlier translation of Michael Psellos'
Fourteen Byzantine Rulers: The Chronographia of Michael Psellus (Penguin Classics). The essays on Greek fire and the Byzantine navy are gone, which is fine because they both include much old scholarship. Instead, a table of relevant Byzantine rulers, popes, and patriarchs is included, as well as stemmata of the Doukas and Komnenos families. The real valuable addition lies in Frankopan's excellent notes. For a Penguin Classic this is exceptional, as they are usually rather bare when it comes to notes. While Frankopan's explanatory notes hardly make this a serious commentary, they are useful for understanding Anna's classical references and the context when she fails to explain herself or is being deliberately manipulative. A glossary is also provided. Such an addition is absolutely essential, as many titles are now just transliterated in the text itself. While the entries are brief, they are sufficient. Frankopan also includes a bibliographic essay at the start of the text which provides a useful summary of the most recent and important scholarship.
This new edition of the 'Alexiad' includes some very useful support materials. It is one of the finest Penguin Classics in print, and easily replaces Sewter's original version.
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