Robert Garland (1) (1947–)

Really deep dive into what life was like for the 99% in Ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome and the medieval era, covering things like what people did for entertainment, what their workday was like, what crime was like, etc. The most striking thing is that slavery was an aspect of every culture, and that for all the great philosophers & thinkers over 2,000 years not one ever proposed ending the system. As frightening as it sounds this is the best time to be alive, historically speaking.

If you've ever listened to lectures from The Teaching Company, you know that instructors can be hit or miss. Their material may be good but their presentation is poor or vice versa. Rarely do the two meet except in this case. Prof. Garland looks at the micro and macro lens in examining the ordinary social climate of the ancient world. It is a fascinating and informative look to better examine our current social climate.
One such observation was when Garland talks about the large temples and show more public buildings of the Greeks and Romans noting that people took considerable pride in their buildings. Their first concern was that the building was grand and moved them beyond their own space. We see these ostentatious temples and buildings and immediately our awe moves to think what a waste as we criticize the hypocrisy of the system. They could have helped others or improved their own homes, which is another way of forcing our Western mindset upon them. We are so focused on condemning the system because it helps us not look at our own excessive individualistic hypocrisy. show less

`This book comes blurbed and reviewed as an attempt to update and popularize Greece's familiar myths in such a way that it will appeal to the common man of today. In this it succeeds to a considerable extent. The gods, nymphs, and heroes narrate their own episodes, which usually are connected to form a cohesive narrative, and the language is indeed colloquial, sometimes salty.

Plenty of good information. I found the writing a bit uneven and watch out here come some cliches!