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

Listen to it if what I say makes no difference

I'm glad I listened to this, if for no other reason to say that I have. Obviously Herodotus doesn't use modern standards of verification for what he relates, and there are many quite humorous assertions that he makes as a result thereof. It was also illuminating to get a glimpse of the thoughts, beliefs, and prejudices of his era. However, if you aren't someone who will read this book for the sake of reading a classic work, regardless of what anyone says, you should probably spend your time on a different book

I could only have done the audiobook

This is a great book. And one of the most important ever written. But it's so LONG! I only made it all the way through because it is an audiobook - I needed the narrator to keep me going. And I'm lucky if I absorbed 10% of the material.

The book isn't just a history of the Persian War, it's everything in the world up-to-and-including it. It really is a collection of stories - but great stories. For those of you who are looking for the story of the 300, you'll have to wait until almost the end.

Great classic

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this version of The Histories. Took a little time to get used to cadence of narrator but after that it was all good.

Pater historiae: Latin, b/c who gets Greek jokes?

The narration was solid, but not top shelf. The Histories, however, is one of those books where an audiobook helps. Reading Herodotus, one can often get bogged down in the loops of geography, people, history, culture and meandre through miles of esoterica. The audiobook gives you a good pace and force-marches you through to the end. I enjoyed the audiobook, but utilized it more as a tool as I read the Landmark series. That is another aspect where the audiobook helps. When reading one translation and listening to another, similar translation, the reader/listener is often able to glean additional information.

Fascinating and Well-Read History

I really enjoyed Herodotus' The Histories, about the background and main events of the epic wars between the ancient Persians and Greeks (translated by George Rawlinson). I was hooked by "the Father of History's" enthusiastic accounts of interesting historical and cultural information and impressed by his appealing balance of objectivity and subjectivity. And I savored his many digressions amplifying the historical context, as well as his detailed accounts of the different ancient exotic cultures (like the Egyptians shaving their eyebrows when their housecats died or the Scythians making capes from the scalps of their fallen enemies), which were in a sense all similar in their violence, heroism, treachery, brutality, ethnocentrism, and superstitious following of prodigies and omens and oracles. We haven't changed so much in 2000 plus years???

Despite some listeners complaining about the reader, Bernard Mayes, I quickly came to enjoy his handling of The Histories, easily imagining myself listening to an elderly, experienced, and decent Herodotus. I appreciated Mayes' subtle changes in tone to express a variety of moods, from Xerxes' waxing wroth at some unpleasant advice and the Athenians getting peeved by the Spartans worrying that they would ally with the Persians, to the suspenseful accounts of battles like those at Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis that helped decide the course of world history. I found Mayes always to be right on task, always speaking with effective clarity and rhythm, always perfectly expressing Herodotus' humor, disbelief, admiration, and criticism of his historical subjects.

The only flaw in the audiobook is the too frequent, sudden flash of a kind of static, which distracts from the overall experience to the point that I'm giving what should be a five star audiobook four stars. I highly recommend it.

Difficult but enlightening

At 29 hours long, this is at a times a difficult listen. The story can be dry and lacks the imaginative preoccupations of fiction. That being said, the narration gives the feel that you are hearing the stories from the mouth of Herodotus himself. Like an entrancing old man who rambles on and on, you half listen out of respect to him, and half in wonder at things you've never heard before. I enjoyed the story and narration, but the audio quality was a little lower than I would have liked.

For a fan of ancient history, this is a must listen which sheds new revelations into other pieces of classic literature and in many respects sets up the mental stage for them.

Worth the Time to Listen

Keep a good history book handy for reference (maybe the first two volumes of Will Durant's Story of Civilization), don't be concerned during the first few hours when Herodotus seems to go off on tangents, and trust that all of this ultimately comes together in entertaining and informative fashion. Also keep in mind that new research is beginning to show that the information Herodotus relates, though often fantastic, generally had kernels of truth. He clearly made a good faith effort to collect and relay what he considered honest and correct information.

Also be prepared for some pretty graphic material as the grandfatherly narrator with his professorial voice suddenly and matter-of-factly begins relating stories that sound more like something out of the Silence of the Lambs than a history book. Quite incongruous, but interesting.

I enjoyed this throughout, and my 16 year old son, who thought I was quite daft when he initially encountered me listening to this in the car, began to get intrigued himself as we got close to the events conveyed (somewhat incorrectly) in the movie "300."

Hard to keep up but well worth the effort

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, first person reporting centuries before Christ. 5th century BC

Who was your favorite character and why?

Herodotus of Halicarnassus. Interviews, dates and a clear difference from what the considered fact (or likely) from stories.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Difficult listening. I'll never buy a book narrated by Bernard Mayes
again. In part 3 it seems there good microphone stopped working so they replaced it with one from a speak n spell. Very course, gave me a headache trying to listen. No amount of radio tuning could correct it. That's right I'm not happy about it.

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

No

Any additional comments?

A good purchase for any history buff. Stop watching television and do your own research.

Really cool

To be honest I used this book to go to sleep to each night. But, wow, there is some really interesting stuff that happened way back in the day. Who knew? And who knew that Herodotus did the legwork to compile such an intriguing bunch of stories.
Did you know an Egyptian sailed around Africa way back then?
How about 2.7 million people in Xerxes army when he invaded Greece?
What was potentially embarrassing truth behind why Troy was sacked?
He paints a colorful picture of an era that was remarkable. I wish we had books of histories written like this for all of the world.
Really cool. Really.

Skips the beginnings of some chapters.

I love the translator for this particular work. This is the only audio I could find for this translator (George Rawlinson). Sadly the audio skips the beginning of some Books (chapters) if you are filling a long with the book you may have to stop and read to catch up with the audio.