Read this a few years ago now and do not recall much about it unfortunately although as a child I was very interested in Greek mythology.

5659. In Search of the Trojan War, by Michael Wood (read 12 Nov 2019) This book, published in 1986, assiduously details the study of the site of Troy in Turkey, telling of Schliemann's archaeological work on the site beginning in the 1870's and reminding me of the great work, Gods, Graves, and Scholars, by C. W. Ceram, which I read on 27 Jan 1953 as I was cruising around in the Mediterranean and have never forgotten. But this book by Michael Wood is written for the serious student and is often very dry. So for me the book was not attention-holding. The author concludes if there was a Trojan War it was in about 1270 B.C. and Homer, if he existed, did the Iliad in about 800 B,C, And Helen? And Achilles? And Hector? I think the author feels that those people are fictional and he may be right--but it takes a lot of interesting things out of the story, and while this book is carefully researched it was a drag to read, for me.. ( )

Text, photos, paintings, maps; everything you want to know about Troy. ( )

This was originally a television show, Mr. Wood takes us past the short history of the excavation of the site by Schliemann, to more modern workings. He has a lively style and pretty good illustrations, though I would have liked more reconstructions of what the city looked like at various periods. One discovers that the city had a certain vogue as a tourist trap in Roman times. But there is evidence of a destruction by fire in the level called Troy VIII. ( )

The Trojans and Achilles and the great ancient war always seemed to be just a myth, as first told by a blind poet. But Michael Wood brings the reality to life with the exhaustive research on the actual historical city of Troy, brought to ashes by the revengeful Greeks.

The author keeps the reader involved with descriptions of the archeological digs and even illustrating how the city of Troy was closer to the sea thousands of years ago. The Bronze Age comes to life here and even includes the re-discovery of the long-missing Hittite empire.

I rank this highly as an adventure for the armchair.


Book Season = Summer ( )