The Histories

By: Herodotus

Narrated by: Bernard Mayes

Length: 27 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Herodotus is not only the father of the art and the science of historical writing, but also one of the Western tradition's most compelling storytellers. In tales such as that of Gyges, who murders Candaules, the king of Lydia, and usurps his throne and his marriage bed, thereby bringing on, generations later, war with the Persians, Herodotus laid bare the intricate human entanglements at the core of great historical events.

In his love for the stranger, more marvelous facts of the world, he infused his magnificent history with a continuous awareness of the mythic and the wonderful. For more than a hundred generations, his supple, lucid prose has drawn readers into his panoramic vision of the war between the Greek city-states and the great empire to the east. And in the generosity of his spirit, in the instinctive empiricism that took him searching over much of the known world for information, in the care he took with sources and historical evidence, in his freedom from intolerance and prejudice, he virtually defined the rational, humane spirit that is the enduring legacy of Greek civilization.

(P) Blackstone Audiobooks

Clear translation by soporific narrator.

Where does The Histories rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Roughly in the middle of the pack.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Histories?

Lots of amazing, colorful moments. Men being cleaved in half over insults, thieves stealing body parts, women commanding ships!

What three words best describe Bernard Mayes’s performance?

Clearly-read. Inaccurately-pronounced. Sleep-inducing.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Hahaha.

Any additional comments?

This is inestimably better than the free version available on another site.

Needs different narrator. Poor quality

What did you like best about The Histories? What did you like least?

I like that this is unabridged. The narrator is very difficult on the ears. The recording is poor.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Histories?

I have tried listening again and again. I hope someday I'll be able to imagine the narrator as my favorite uncle.

Would you be willing to try another one of Bernard Mayes’s performances?

No.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Sure.

Any additional comments?

I don't recommend this recording. I wish Audible could offer a different recording of the same title. Unabridged.

Pretend the narrator is your favorite Uncle

Every few minutes the oblivious elderly narrator bumps into the microphone or some other object nearby, which is very distracting. If you think of the reading as a favorite uncle or prof telling you his opinion of the history of the known world up to that point, (and who just happens to bump into whatever is near him) that makes it more tolerable. I am surprised anyone thought this narration worth selling as a product or worth paying for; I should have previewed it first, obviously. That said, if you can ignore all that, then the stories are mind-numbing, in a good way. So many civilisations I had never even heard of before! So many tyrants being horrible in ways new to my imagination when I foolishly thought the current evil of humanity was surely the worst. Amazing perspective on human history, in other words, and very worth either reading or listening to. It would be useful to have a map of the ancient world handy, though, as it is hard to envision the rise and fall of all these kingdoms, tribes and empires.

Mediocre Narration

I really liked this translation of the ancient Greek, especially since it is so hard to translate. I did, though, find the narrator lacking in color and emotional depth.

Regarding the work itself: If could only have read one book in my life, it would be Herodotus' ethnography and history of the Scythians. They blow my mind. I wish I were Scythian...

If a narrator narrated with a little more "umph"/"chutzvah"/"spirit", I would easily give it 5 stars.

Maps would help

It's hard to call yourself an historian and not to have read Herodotus, the Father of History. Every time I'd pick up the written version, I found the beginning so slow (and so steeped in fable as to be of questionable historical value) that I would set it aside as a chore to be tackled when I really needed to do penance. Listening to the audio version has strengths and weaknesses of its own. One gets through the fables and the travel book accounts of the first book more easily, though I found times where my attention lapsed. There are so many odd names of persons and places, that it's difficult to keep them straight without seeing their spelling or location on a map. This might be one of those books that are best listened too and read simultaneously. Keep an ancient atlas with you as well. The story picks up with the recounting of Persia's invasion of Greece and the resistance made by Sparta and Athens. It's then one realizes just how much of our understanding of the Persian Wars trace back to Herodotus. Many later texts on the period draw on him almost exclusively. Parts of the work are worth many re-reads, but as I say, keep some maps at hand. As for Bernard Mayes's narration, yes he comes off as a Greek oral traditionalists, but his dry voice make dry sections seem particularly desiccated.

Could have been much better produced.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

A great deal of detail about the lay of the land and battles, but very hard to follow the time line without referencing other source material.

Would you ever listen to anything by Herodotus again?

No.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He spoke in a Classic Old English accent and used a lot of "Thees" and "Thous" when the Greeks thought of those people from Europe as "Barbarians". The narrator should have spoken English with a slight Greek accent to make it more from the time.

Do you think The Histories needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

What the producer of the audio tape should have done is provide Editor's Notes along the way and give a timeline reference we can understand and also define various terms of measurement like cubit, furlong, talon and the many other ancient terms so I could understand the reference of distances and weights. Also give a reference to the current name or location of a City mentioned in the History. There are many rivers and land formations/mountains mentioned. Giving the current name of the river or mountain range would have been very helpful.

Any additional comments?

The History was too tedious and had very few interesting periods. It is not interesting to hear about the family lineage of someone back twenty generations.

Some chapters were occasionally skipped.

Good narrator, but chunks were missing. Very fascinating history of the Persians and the Greeks and everybody nearby

They don't call him ,...

The Father of History for nothing. As you start reading (or listening) you will very quickly become hooked on the masterful storytelling.

A classic drained of its vitality

What made the experience of listening to The Histories the most enjoyable?

The stories are wonderful.

What did you like best about this story?

The anthropological vignettes are entertaining and charming, but the final chapters on the history of the Persian war are the most engaging.

What didn’t you like about Bernard Mayes’s performance?

Bernard Mayes's voice is evocative of a smoke-filled Victorian drawing room filled with closeted homosexual English aristocrats. This drains an energetic and charming classic of its innovative masculinity and induces sleep.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. It's perfect if you have a fist full of amphetamines and 28 straight hours to spare. I recommend listening while lifting weights (no cardio) or feeding the baby, as the audiobook colors each experience with a shade of world-historical significance.

Audio alone is too difficult to follow

I recommend a book such as The Landmark Herodotus, with lots of maps and other references to give The Histories some context. With the help of maps and other written references I was able to enjoy the audio version of Herodotus' Histories. The audio alone is too hard to follow unless one already has extensive knowledge of Ancient Greece.
While the recording quality of the Blackstone Audio Bernard Mayes narrated version was only fair, I liked the expressiveness of Bernard Mayes' reading -- so that I preferred this version over a more polished sounding newer version.