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merv_d's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.25
natimat's review against another edition
2.0
Mimo, że liczyłam na to, że tematyka mnie zainteresuje to jakoś bardzo ciężko czytało mi się tą książkę. Możliwe, że dlatego, że jest to moja lektura szkolna, ten reportaż/autobiografia, wydał mi się dosyć nudny.
Polecam dla osób, które chcą przeczytać reportaż pełen refleksji i opowieści o starożytnym świecie.
Polecam dla osób, które chcą przeczytać reportaż pełen refleksji i opowieści o starożytnym świecie.
gimmemorebooks21's review against another edition
4.0
"Non si sa esattamente che cosa spinga l’uomo a girare il mondo. La curiosità? Il desiderio di avventura? Il continuo bisogno di essere stupito? Chi perde la capacità di stupirsi è un uomo interiormente morto. Chi considera tutto un déjà vu e non riesce a stupirsi di niente, ha perso la cosa più preziosa, l’amore per la vita. Erodoto è l’esatto contrario."
abandonedmegastructure's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Travels with Herodotus isn't really about traveling.
Half the book is formed by a small slice of Kapuściński's own life story. This was moderately interesting but felt rather incomplete without having read any of the journalist's other books and reports before; time and time again we'd get a narration of him arriving in some new Asian or African country, comment on his inability to actually be where news was happening, wander about lost, and at last leave again. The other half focuses on Herodotus's Histories, a book that Kapuściński took along on many of his travels. Parallels are occasionally drawn between the two travelers, separated by twenty-five hundred years, and if a locale is visited by both, this earns some mention.
Two lines of questioning become apparent throughout the book. Who was Herodotus? What drove him? What set him apart from all those around him? And secondly, the same question that Herodotus asks in the preface of his own book: what drives conflict between the peoples of this earth?
Kapuściński tries to answer these questions as well as possible. First, he concludes that Herodotus uniquely realized the shared humanity of all those he encountered, the fragility of our cultural narratives, the sobering acknowledgement that our nation, our people, our tribe perhaps aren't the center of the universe, and that this is what drove Herodotus to seek out and record all he could learn of the world's people. It's a powerful conclusion, and a compelling one, and I rather liked this part.
The other question is answered less well. The book (written in 2004) dedicates a large portion of its latter half to outlining the Greco-Persian wars of the 5th century BC. The portions of history are encyclopedic but serviceable, but the attempts to draw parallels to the modern day have aged less well. The fact that the book was written only a few years after 9/11 result in some awkward metaphors in which Athenian slaveholders and their tyrant-led allies get cast as champions of democracy bravely standing against Eastern despotism: a narrative that had its fair share of flaws twenty years ago, and by now fails to resonate as it presumably once did.
With the book's lines of questioning such a mixed bag, what else is there? The travel portions lack in detail, the excerpts of Herodotus feel ill-integrated. The meditations on journalism and traveling are decent. The book is eminently readable, and I worked my way through most of it in a day, but I would hardly say the wording was particularly compelling. All in all, a rather mediocre book, perhaps recommendable to Kapuściński enthusiasts but not to any who just want a good travel journey or historical analysis.
Half the book is formed by a small slice of Kapuściński's own life story. This was moderately interesting but felt rather incomplete without having read any of the journalist's other books and reports before; time and time again we'd get a narration of him arriving in some new Asian or African country, comment on his inability to actually be where news was happening, wander about lost, and at last leave again. The other half focuses on Herodotus's Histories, a book that Kapuściński took along on many of his travels. Parallels are occasionally drawn between the two travelers, separated by twenty-five hundred years, and if a locale is visited by both, this earns some mention.
Two lines of questioning become apparent throughout the book. Who was Herodotus? What drove him? What set him apart from all those around him? And secondly, the same question that Herodotus asks in the preface of his own book: what drives conflict between the peoples of this earth?
Kapuściński tries to answer these questions as well as possible. First, he concludes that Herodotus uniquely realized the shared humanity of all those he encountered, the fragility of our cultural narratives, the sobering acknowledgement that our nation, our people, our tribe perhaps aren't the center of the universe, and that this is what drove Herodotus to seek out and record all he could learn of the world's people. It's a powerful conclusion, and a compelling one, and I rather liked this part.
The other question is answered less well. The book (written in 2004) dedicates a large portion of its latter half to outlining the Greco-Persian wars of the 5th century BC. The portions of history are encyclopedic but serviceable, but the attempts to draw parallels to the modern day have aged less well. The fact that the book was written only a few years after 9/11 result in some awkward metaphors in which Athenian slaveholders and their tyrant-led allies get cast as champions of democracy bravely standing against Eastern despotism: a narrative that had its fair share of flaws twenty years ago, and by now fails to resonate as it presumably once did.
With the book's lines of questioning such a mixed bag, what else is there? The travel portions lack in detail, the excerpts of Herodotus feel ill-integrated. The meditations on journalism and traveling are decent. The book is eminently readable, and I worked my way through most of it in a day, but I would hardly say the wording was particularly compelling. All in all, a rather mediocre book, perhaps recommendable to Kapuściński enthusiasts but not to any who just want a good travel journey or historical analysis.
triptofun's review against another edition
4.0
Questo libro profuma di liceo, di nomi da lungo tempo dimenticati, di quella sintassi strana che ha la traduzione dal greco antico e di storie senza tempo. Alle vicende narrate da Erodoto sulle guerre greco-persiane si alterna la vita dell’autore e i suoi reportage non meno approssimativi di quelli di Erodoto: basati anch’essi sul farsi raccontare dai locali cose che forse sono avvenute e forse no, tra problemi di comunicazione e barriere culturali.
zaczytaga's review against another edition
5.0
Pierwszy raz wybrałam się w podróż z panem Kapuścińskim i było fantastycznie. O książce tej wiedziałam niewiele. Właściwie tylko tyle, co można wywnioskować z tytułu. Myślałam więc, że polski reporter uda się w podróż śladami Herodota, nie zaś, że to Herodot (a właściwie jego "Dzieje") był towarzyszem wypraw Kapuścińskiego.
Ta książka to niesamowite połączenie przybliżenia postaci Herodota i snucia rozważań o tej postaci, reporterskich opisów podróży oraz wielu bardzo osobistych przeżyć. Czytało mi się to wspaniale. Po pierwsze Herodot staje się w naszych oczach (a raczej wyobraźni) żywym człowiekiem z krwi i kości, niewiele różniącym się od nas samych. Kapuściński, zastanawiając się nad jego dzieciństwem, zainteresowaniami i motywacjami, sprawia, że widzimy go nie jako brodatego mędrca lecz podobnego nam podróżnika, niezwykle zainteresowanego otaczającym go światem i historią.
Oprócz tego możemy też doświadczyć tego, co przeżywał autor podczas swoich pierwszych wyjazdów za granicę. Jakie uczucia mu towarzyszyły. Zagubienie, które odczuwał. Determinacja, jaka go motywowała. Każda podróż była zderzeniem z zupełnie odmienną kulturą, innym językiem i ludzkimi zachowaniami.
Według mnie jest to świetna książka na rozpoczęcie przygody z reportażami. Bardzo bardzo polecam! ❤
Ta książka to niesamowite połączenie przybliżenia postaci Herodota i snucia rozważań o tej postaci, reporterskich opisów podróży oraz wielu bardzo osobistych przeżyć. Czytało mi się to wspaniale. Po pierwsze Herodot staje się w naszych oczach (a raczej wyobraźni) żywym człowiekiem z krwi i kości, niewiele różniącym się od nas samych. Kapuściński, zastanawiając się nad jego dzieciństwem, zainteresowaniami i motywacjami, sprawia, że widzimy go nie jako brodatego mędrca lecz podobnego nam podróżnika, niezwykle zainteresowanego otaczającym go światem i historią.
Oprócz tego możemy też doświadczyć tego, co przeżywał autor podczas swoich pierwszych wyjazdów za granicę. Jakie uczucia mu towarzyszyły. Zagubienie, które odczuwał. Determinacja, jaka go motywowała. Każda podróż była zderzeniem z zupełnie odmienną kulturą, innym językiem i ludzkimi zachowaniami.
Według mnie jest to świetna książka na rozpoczęcie przygody z reportażami. Bardzo bardzo polecam! ❤
felo's review against another edition
5.0
Co ja do tej pory czytałam i dlaczego to nie był Kapusciński??
aorth's review
3.0
I don't share Kapuściński's romantic fascination with the world or its history. I do love when I open a book and there's a map, but I'm not romantic. As such, his writing is a little bit too poetic for me. Also, I was somewhat let down in the beginning when I realized that this was not the author following in the footsteps of Herodotus. Later I was less disappointed, as he did end up traveling to some of the same places, for example North Africa, Iran, and Herodotus's birthplace in Turkey. I felt a bit of wanderlust when he was sailing to Bodrum and exploring the royal ruins in Persepolis.
The most exciting parts of the book for me were where the author highlights passages from Herodotus's The Histories. It is appalling how much torture, revenge, eye gouging, beheading, enslaving, castrating, invading, raping, sacrificing, etc that happened during the early classical antiquity. Some of the stories are just so crazy you have to wonder if they are true. I'm looking forward to reading more about classical Greece and Persia.
The most exciting parts of the book for me were where the author highlights passages from Herodotus's The Histories. It is appalling how much torture, revenge, eye gouging, beheading, enslaving, castrating, invading, raping, sacrificing, etc that happened during the early classical antiquity. Some of the stories are just so crazy you have to wonder if they are true. I'm looking forward to reading more about classical Greece and Persia.