The Ancient Guide to Modern Life
The Ancient Guide to Modern Life book cover

The Ancient Guide to Modern Life

Paperback – April 24, 2012

by
Price
$18.75
Format
Paperback
Pages
288
Publisher
Abrams Press
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1590208502
Dimensions
5.5 x 1 x 8 inches
Weight
9.6 ounces

Description

"A romp through some of the best-known, and some of the more obscure, writers, thought, and stories of Greece and Rome." — Times Literary Supplement "Delivered with wonderful energy, wit, zeal, expertise. Irresistible!" — Andrew Motion, former UK Poet Laureate "A constantly amusing but quite serious book!" — Associated Press Natalie Haynes appears regularly on BBC Television's Newsnight Review and BBC Radio 4's Saturday Review and Front Row. she writes for the Sunday Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday, The New Humanist, and the Times. she earned her degree in classics at Cambridge and has worked as an award-winning stand-up comedian. she lives in London.

Features & Highlights

  • In this thoroughly engaging book, Natalie Haynes brings her scholarship and wit to the most fascinating true stories of the ancient world. The Ancient Guide to Modern Life not only reveals the origins of our culture in areas including philosophy, politics, language, and art, it also draws illuminating connections between antiquity and our present time, to demonstrate that the Greeks and Romans were not so different from ourselves: is Bart Simpson the successor to Aristophanes? Do the Beckhams have parallel lives with The Satiricon's Trimalchio? Along the way Haynes debunks myths (gladiators didn't salute the emperor before their deaths, and the last words of Julius Caesar weren't "et tu, brute?") from Athens to Zeno's paradox, this irresistible guide shows how the history and wisdom of the ancient world can inform and enrich our lives today.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(182)
★★★★
25%
(76)
★★★
15%
(45)
★★
7%
(21)
★
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(-21)

Most Helpful Reviews

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The Ancient World Compared to the Modern One

In this book, the author goes through various subject matters and compares the ancient world's (mainly Greece and Rome) attitudes towards them, to today's. For example, ancient authors and playwrights and the ancient public's reactions to them are compared to modern authors and film makers and how today's public reacts to them. Also, the topics of these plays and writings are compared to those of today. Other topics include but are not limited to religion, warfare, finances, entertainment, housing and lifestyles.

I found some parts of the book quite interesting and others a bit slow. But overall, I felt that the book was a worthwhile read. The writing style is clear, friendly, accessible and generally light-hearted. This book can be enjoyed by anyone, especially ancient history enthusiasts.
7 people found this helpful

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