Customer Reviews

The Persian War: From the Histories (Classic Non Fiction)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I actually downloaded this from Audible about six months ago. I rarely bother with abridged works, but at the time there was no complete recording of Herodotus available. Roy Marsden is an adequate narrator, but there doesn't seem to be any enthusiasm or fire in his delivery. It becomes monotonous after a while. On the plus side, Naxos have selected the best parts of Herodotus to record and you will find these portions superbly written. I recently downloaded a brand new version by Audio Connoisseur, also from Audible.com. This version is unabridged and it is simply spectacular. It's about 29 hours long and the narrator is splendid. I would gladly give it a five star rating. However, I can't find it here on Amazon.com. But it's apparently new and maybe it will show up later.

I have listened to several of the Naxos audio books and they tend to have very boring narrators. However, I enjoyed this one very much. I would recommend it. If you can find the unabridged version of Herodotus mentioned below, go for it. Unabridged is always preferable to abridged (as long a you don't mind the higher price).

This is a good audio book for those of who enjoy reading (or hearing) of ancient history. Herodotus is quoted in bits in every book about the pivotal battles between Greece and Persia, but usually only in snippets here and there. For a layman like myself who wants to hear more of what he himself recorded, this is a very good abridgement. The reader will have to procure a map of ancient Greece and Ionia for occasional reference for the places of the story to make sense, but I imagine most folks even interested in this audio book probably have such a map in another text. The reading leaves something to be desired for an American. The reader has a considerable accent so often one is trying to figure out what the English word is "in American" because it is pronounced so differently. It is a little disconcerting because most of us purchase audio books to enjoy during some other activity and one keeps getting distracted by the English words and then still has to take in the Greek words and keep track of the main characters. The audio production is OK although it does not have the clarity of most and therefore requires a higher volume than normal.