Customer Reviews

The Exploits of Xenophon

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The Exploits of Xenophon is a great book. It was originally written 2,360 years ago by Xenophon. Then, this abridged version was written by Geoffrey Household in 1955. This book is about 1/4 of the original size, but the story is still kept the same. All of the extreme details were removed from this book. Also this book was originally written in the third person, and was changed to the first person. In my opinion, this change made the book much more interesting. I have not red the original yet but I am looking forward to reading it. The original is called Anabasis.


In the book, Xenophon joined the army of Cyrus. Cyrus was the younger brother of Artexerxes, king of Persia. He wanted to take the throne. Cyrus used his Greek army to attack his brother. The Greeks would have won, but Cyrus was killed in the fighting. Now, these 10,000 Greeks had to escape Persia and get back home. Xenophon helped command the Greek army through Persian attacks, hostile tribes, freezing winters, and rough terrain. The book is filled with action, adventure, and lots of fighting.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is over the age of ten or is a good reader. One great thing about this book is that it is not historical fiction. The story ACTUALLY happened and the writer, Xenophon, really experienced it. One of the best parts about this book though, is that this army survives the impossible. They make it through months of below zero temperatures in sleeveless shirts, defeat hundreds of thousands of Persians, and crush many hostile mountain tribes-- all from an army of 10,000! Even though it is short, it can have some complicated words. It is also hard to follow sometimes because it doesn't explain things well. I am thirteen and loved this book. My brother, who is eleven, also loved this book as much as I did. Overall, this is a very good book and it is a very quick read. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time!

A wonderful read for men and boys.
Learn an era, cultures of many nations,
history of events in one tome