From the master of literary reportage whose acclaimed books include Shah of Shahs, The Emperor, and The Shadow of the Sun, an intimat...
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Sep 04, 2010
Richard
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(The review in the Economist which recommended this book is available only to subscribers, but is here if you happen to be a subscriber. The Economist’s obituary of Kapuściński is also available, here.)
I’ve recently been categorizing my reading material into “fast” and “slow”, but after reading Kapuściński’s Travels with Herodotus I think I need to rethink the “slow” category.
Fast books are those that pull you along without any effort — page-turners. Slow books are those More...
I’ve recently been categorizing my reading material into “fast” and “slow”, but after reading Kapuściński’s Travels with Herodotus I think I need to rethink the “slow” category.
Fast books are those that pull you along without any effort — page-turners. Slow books are those More...
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Jan 10, 2010
Martine
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I love travelogues. I love classical antiquity. So I really expected to enjoy Ryszard Kapuscinski's Travels with Herodotus, an attempt to mix modern literary reportage with the writings of one of the greatest travelling reporters of all time, Herodotus. Sadly, however, the book was a bit of letdown. The old and new stuff didn't blend well, so the final result, while occasionally poignant and insightful, was a little underwhelming.
Maybe I went in with the wrong expectations. When I b More...
Maybe I went in with the wrong expectations. When I b More...
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Oct 23, 2007
Conrad
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One of my biggest regrets in life so far is that I never got to take Ryszard Kapuscinski out to dinner. His reportage, such as The Shadow of the Sun and The Emperor catalogues human frailty better than anything since Dante, and like Dante, possesses a moral sense combined with cosmopolitan empathy for nearly everyone he runs into.
This was a thoughtful and moving valediction from a person who truly was a citizen of the world. More...
This was a thoughtful and moving valediction from a person who truly was a citizen of the world. More...
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Jan 08, 2012
Fraser
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Ryszard Kapuscinski was a Polish journalist who covered the developing world while working for a Polish newspaper in the 1950s and 1960s. This book is something of a travel journal of his time spent in India, China, SE Asia, and Africa. However, about half of the pages are devoted to "The Histories" by Herodotus, which he read religiously over the course of his career.
Kapuscinski covers a career's worth of experiences spanning the 1979 Iranian revolution, Mao's Hundred Flow More...
Kapuscinski covers a career's worth of experiences spanning the 1979 Iranian revolution, Mao's Hundred Flow More...
Jul 11, 2011
Kristianne
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Reading Kapuscinski while bed-bound with illness is a blessing and a curse. It offers escape and yet makes my infirmity more pronounced. The vibrancy of the places the author visits and the experiences he has in each is intoxicating. I wanted to pack up my meager belongings and set out again for a new adventure. Exploring the world is intoxicating and addictive. Kapuscinski writes in the book:
“A journey, after all, neither begins in the instant we set out, nor ends when we have reach More...
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Jan 25, 2011
Geoffrey
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En 1956, el periódico polaco Sztandar Mlodych [Estandarte de Juventud] envió a Kapuscinski a la India, porque la visita de Nehru a Polonia había despertado algún interés en ese lejano país. Esta fue la primera oportunidad para "cruzar la frontera" del joven reportero, que ni siquiera sabía inglés y quedó mistificado y fascinado por la India. Aquí nos cuenta de esa visita y anécdotas de otros viajes a Jartum, el Congo/Zaire, Senegal, y China, intercaladas con largas citas de Heródoto, c
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Jul 27, 2010
http://bookcents.blogspot.com/2010/07/tr...
Ryszard Kapuściński's Travels with Herodotus is a marvelous half-memoir of his career and half-reflection on Herodotus’ The Histories. Other than a few articles I’ve read over the years, this is my first extended exposure to Kapuściński. I have definitely shortchanged myself in not reading more of his work before now. Kapuściński was a Polish journalist/correspondent that consistently put himself in some of the world’s hot spots. From the TIME.com More...
Ryszard Kapuściński's Travels with Herodotus is a marvelous half-memoir of his career and half-reflection on Herodotus’ The Histories. Other than a few articles I’ve read over the years, this is my first extended exposure to Kapuściński. I have definitely shortchanged myself in not reading more of his work before now. Kapuściński was a Polish journalist/correspondent that consistently put himself in some of the world’s hot spots. From the TIME.com More...
Jun 28, 2010
Libyrinths
rated it:
Enjoyable light read, especially if you've read Herodotus. Kapuscinski spends a lot of time reviewing and quoting things Herodotus has written about, so that's an easy skim.
In essence, the title is accurate, in that Herodotus becomes Kapuscinski's touchstone in his journalistic travels. He sees Herodotus as an ancient journalist, and thus projects a lot of himself onto Herodotus. K. asks some obvious (and thus irritating) questions about what H. wrote, and does some reflecting about More...
In essence, the title is accurate, in that Herodotus becomes Kapuscinski's touchstone in his journalistic travels. He sees Herodotus as an ancient journalist, and thus projects a lot of himself onto Herodotus. K. asks some obvious (and thus irritating) questions about what H. wrote, and does some reflecting about More...
Oct 30, 2010
Jim
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This, the last book by its author, is one of a kind. It is merely by chance that, earlier this month, I re-read Herodotus's Histories, so it is so fresh in my mind that I recognized most of the quotes from the 5th century B.C. Greek historian instantly.
But what if I had not read Herodotus recently? Then this would be a rather boring work, an extended commentary on someone with whom I was not familiar.
Kapuscinski and Herodotus shared many traits in common. Both had traveled t More...
But what if I had not read Herodotus recently? Then this would be a rather boring work, an extended commentary on someone with whom I was not familiar.
Kapuscinski and Herodotus shared many traits in common. Both had traveled t More...
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Aug 09, 2011
Fabio
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bel libro, interessante per stile e contenuto.
in effetti sono più viaggi in uno: quelli di Erodoto che ci racconta le sue "storie", quello di Kapuschinski che ci racconta i suoi viaggi in giro per il mondo accompagnato da Erodoto, quello nostro in queste pagine.
Scritto bene, non ha un vero filo logico se non quello di cercare la motivazione che ci spinge a cercare e raccontare storie, luoghi e persone. Sicuramente uno di quei libri che si presta a più letture e interpretazioni. Io pr More...
in effetti sono più viaggi in uno: quelli di Erodoto che ci racconta le sue "storie", quello di Kapuschinski che ci racconta i suoi viaggi in giro per il mondo accompagnato da Erodoto, quello nostro in queste pagine.
Scritto bene, non ha un vero filo logico se non quello di cercare la motivazione che ci spinge a cercare e raccontare storie, luoghi e persone. Sicuramente uno di quei libri che si presta a più letture e interpretazioni. Io pr More...
Apr 27, 2010
Robertisenberg
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Ryzhard Kapuscinski is my kind of journalist: Ambitious, daring, but also humble and self-effacing. As a Polish reporter during the Cold War, Kapuscinski didn't actually know very much about the outside world -- much less India (his first international visit), nor China, Congo, and Egypt.
His guide, curiously enough, was Herodotus, the Greek historian who ate up folklore and cultural history like Hellenistic candy. I found this familiar -- turning to a great author to help shape one's More...
His guide, curiously enough, was Herodotus, the Greek historian who ate up folklore and cultural history like Hellenistic candy. I found this familiar -- turning to a great author to help shape one's More...
Feb 08, 2010
Dan
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kapuscinski is one of my absolute favorite writers, but this is one of his least exciting books. it has its moments of greatness - the parallels between stalin's death and the sudden availability of herodotus' writings are quite memorable, and kapuscinski's trademark knack for respectfully approaching the otherness of the globe is on display throughout. he tries to fuse his typical, literary travelogue approach to journalism with a fairly straightforward appreciation of the ancient writer, and t
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Nov 01, 2009
itpdx
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At first I thought this book was going to be like Travels with a Tangerine A Journey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah, where a current-day traveler tries to retrace the route of an ancient traveler and reports on what has changed.
But this is different. Kapuscinski looks to Herodotus as an early reporter--how does Herodotus find out about the world, its peoples and events and how and why does he write it down.
But I am more interested in Kapuscinski's own travels. He e More...
But this is different. Kapuscinski looks to Herodotus as an early reporter--how does Herodotus find out about the world, its peoples and events and how and why does he write it down.
But I am more interested in Kapuscinski's own travels. He e More...
Nov 26, 2010
Jimmy
rated it:
Sometimes here on Goodreads I'll read a review that combines an actual review of the book and a personal narrative (where the reviewer might tell you a story of how they came upon the book, or some experience they had a while ago that has parallels to the book they are reviewing). The strategy has its advantages, and it usually at least makes for an entertaining read.
Reading Travels with Herodotus was like reading such a book review about The Histories by Herodotus. But much longer More...
Reading Travels with Herodotus was like reading such a book review about The Histories by Herodotus. But much longer More...
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Sep 04, 2010
Catherine
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I read this on my recent trip to Africa. It was a good choice in that Kapuscinski also traveled to Africa, so he some interesting insights into the continent. That being said, I wish I had enjoyed the book more. Kapuscinski is an excellent journalists with keen insights and interesting experiences - however much of the book was simply a recitation of Greek mythology as described by Herodotus. I recognize that a book entitled "Travels with Herodotus" is going to have some discussion o
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Jan 14, 2009
George
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From the title page: “Ryszard Kapuscinski, Poland’s most celebrated foreign correspondent, was born in 1932 in Pinsk (in what is now Belarus) and spent four decades reporting on Asia, Latin America, and Africa. He died in 2007.” This remarkable book is the account of Kapuscinski’s years in the field, traveling for the first time beyond the Iron Curtain to India, China, Ethiopia, and other interesting locales. But, it is more than an interesting travelogue. He travels with a copy of Herodotus
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Aug 06, 2011
Rickyjez
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I enjoyed this book because I learned some things about the ancient Persian wars and more on Herodotus' achievements. While, I loved that the author is 'old school'--meaning he wasn't afraid to challenge his readers and write in a scholarly, albeit interesting manner--I felt inclined to question the content of this work. Herodotus' account of ancient cultures and war was more than a little one-sided and Kapuscinski calls this to his readers attention, but Kapuscinski does so only near the end an
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Nov 19, 2010
Felix
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Tim gave me this memoir on Kapuściński’s days as a Herodotus-reading foreign correspondent for a Polish newspaper, which he’d been telling me about for the last two years, for my Kathmandu birthday. I’m a big fan of the Herodotus’ Histories, it being the Western World’s first true written history, and having studied it at uni, but I’m sorry to say I was quite unimpressed with this book. The travel anecdotes described within it are fairly bland and humdrum (unlike my own fantasmogogical adventure
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Sep 16, 2008
Ericka
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I started reading this during my archaeology project in Croatia. It is about a Polish journalist during communist rule who simply wants to cross the border. He ends up being sent to different continents. Along the way he reads Herodotus' The Histories. This book is about him relating his experiences to the book he travels with. I couldn't put it down unless I had to and finished it in two days.
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Jan 27, 2009
Lisa
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The book I wanted this to be was one where, upon reading something from Herodotus such as "According to the stories of the Trachis, the left bank of the Ister is populated by bees," the author is going to place this anecdote on a modern map, go there, write about what became of the Trachis and who they are now, and where this business with bees might have come from.
That is not this book. There is one bit where Kapuściński visits a site from The Histories, Persepolis, but h More...
That is not this book. There is one bit where Kapuściński visits a site from The Histories, Persepolis, but h More...
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May 30, 2011
Losososdiane
rated it:
This was a kind, gentle, philosophical read. It begins with something that was probably quite common before so many of us began zipping around in planes and autos: the strong desire to just cross a border; nothing more; just cross a line that is supposed to divide and protect us. Growing up in Southern California, I was first thrilled and then disappointed to cross the state line into Nevada. The author's entire career begins with a similar ambition. As he travels, he reads Heroditus and us
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Dec 16, 2009
patxi
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Reflexión sobre el viaje, sobre la percepción de los otros... Amplias citas de la Historia de Heródoto, enfrenta a un hijo de la cultura occidental a otras culturas, manifestando la percepción de la diferencia y la dificultad de la asimilación.
De muy fácil y amena lectura. ¿Lo mejor? Que me voy a leer a Heródoto de un tirón.
De muy fácil y amena lectura. ¿Lo mejor? Que me voy a leer a Heródoto de un tirón.
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Jan 08, 2011
Natalia Pì
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mi è piaciuto, come la maggior parte dei pezzi di kapuscinski che ho letto. è il primo libro completo che leggo, dei suoi. non male davvero.
a volte per una come me, sempre un po' troppo fissata col presente, seguire le vicende che k. trae dal suo libro di erodoto è stato un po' difficile... allo stesso tempo però, quando ci entri, sono avvincenti quanto i suoi racconti di prima mano, che mi appassionano sempre.
in particolare, mi sono piaciuti i suoi racconti su se stesso in giovane e More...
a volte per una come me, sempre un po' troppo fissata col presente, seguire le vicende che k. trae dal suo libro di erodoto è stato un po' difficile... allo stesso tempo però, quando ci entri, sono avvincenti quanto i suoi racconti di prima mano, che mi appassionano sempre.
in particolare, mi sono piaciuti i suoi racconti su se stesso in giovane e More...
Sep 13, 2009
David
rated it:
Subtract two stars if you haven't read, studied, and loved The History by Herodotus, because RK spends a lot of time being enthusiastic about this book. Sometimes, this goes a little overboard, like when RK speculates on what Herodotus would have thought about bicycles.
In my sight, this book addresses an important question: Do books have to have a point? We are constantly taught that “good writing” has to have a thesis, an opinion, and the two measures of its goodness is how clever More...
In my sight, this book addresses an important question: Do books have to have a point? We are constantly taught that “good writing” has to have a thesis, an opinion, and the two measures of its goodness is how clever More...
Mar 06, 2009
Adam
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I would have loved to love this book. I think I devoured Kapuscinski's "Soccer Wars" in an afternoon, and I'm also very interested in Herodotus and the ancient world.
Unfortunately it was a bit of a letdown. I wasn't able to discern the relationship between the random Herodotus quotes and the flashbacks to India/China/Ethiopia. Sometimes they were loosely related, but other times I just didn't see the connections at all. He was forced to do some pretty vague pontificating to More...
Unfortunately it was a bit of a letdown. I wasn't able to discern the relationship between the random Herodotus quotes and the flashbacks to India/China/Ethiopia. Sometimes they were loosely related, but other times I just didn't see the connections at all. He was forced to do some pretty vague pontificating to More...
Dec 07, 2009
Amber
rated it:
Very interesting and at times exciting nonfiction. I don't think I've ever used all those words in the same sentence before!
Kapuscinski is a journalist from Poland who was a foreign correspondent all over the world over the course of many years. He recounts some of his travels to interesting locales while overlaying his favorite parts of the greek classic writer, Herodotus.
Not so much a story with a plot, but a collection of observations and essays of recent world history (China More...
Kapuscinski is a journalist from Poland who was a foreign correspondent all over the world over the course of many years. He recounts some of his travels to interesting locales while overlaying his favorite parts of the greek classic writer, Herodotus.
Not so much a story with a plot, but a collection of observations and essays of recent world history (China More...
Dec 03, 2008
Julia
rated it: 
Oh Ryszard, shouldn't your memoir be more compelling?
I wish I had read one of Kapuscinski's prior works - Shah of Shahs or Imperium - before embarking on his trip down memory lane, recounting his experiences as a young foreign journalist in India, China, and Africa. Kapuscinski's revelations are pedestrian throughout, and the connection between his own travels and that of the Ancient Greek, Herodotus, is tenuous at best. I would have either enjoyed a more detailed, thoughtful trave More...
I wish I had read one of Kapuscinski's prior works - Shah of Shahs or Imperium - before embarking on his trip down memory lane, recounting his experiences as a young foreign journalist in India, China, and Africa. Kapuscinski's revelations are pedestrian throughout, and the connection between his own travels and that of the Ancient Greek, Herodotus, is tenuous at best. I would have either enjoyed a more detailed, thoughtful trave More...
Mar 30, 2010
Mark
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Kapuscinski was given Herodotus's "Histories" as a travel companion on his first trip outside of Poland as a journalist. He read and re-read the book on many of his subsequent trips reporting for the Polish version of AP. "Travels with Herodotus" is brilliant in that it is partly a memoir of Kapuscinski's years on the road, partly a reading of Herodotus's Histories which chronicle Greece's (Europe's) war with Persia (Asia), partly a travelogue through Herodotus's world and
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Jan 11, 2009
Mark
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Very disappointing book! I was so interested to read it, particularly after several other books by other authors that delivered on what was promised here. This is really a mildly annoying book, with the author using Herodotus as nothing more than a meaningless prop to offer his fairly basic and very fragmented opinions and views of India, China and other places. Too bad...and his observations of the places he visited are very pedestrian, unenlightening and ultimately conform to basic archetyp
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Dec 06, 2010
James
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A surprising delight. I love it when you start a book with out of a sense that I should really broaden my horizons and read something worthy with a strong expectation that it is going to be rather dull and then the book turns out to be excellent. Never thought the story of for a long time Polands only foreign correspondant and Herodotus would have any semblance of a link, but it really works well. The book is entertaining, gave me a new perspective and left me feeling like I had learnt something
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