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79th out of 301 books
—
151 voters
The Greek Treasure
by
Irving Stone
Be it Michelangelo or Henry Schliemann, be it a chisel or a pick, there's always a lot of wood to chop in one of Irving Stone's factually fortified biographies of great men of obdurate vigor. Schliemann was certainly the most single-minded of these when in middle age, rich & retired from business, he decided to uncover the city of Troy destroyed some 3000 years ago. At...more
Paperback, 496 pages
Published
November 9th 1976
by Signet
(first published January 1st 1975)
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Henry Schliemann was a very peculiar man, but only someone like him could have had the madness of excavating Troy. His relationship with the 30 years younger Sophia was a fortunate and interesting adventure. What I most appreciated was that he had the courage of pursuing his plans despite the fact that his contemporaries and the Greeks believed that Homer’s Troy was pure myth. He demonstrated that the ancient writings told a true story when he uncovered Priam’s treasure. A lesson for sceptics! I...more
Henry Schliemann and his wife Sophie spent many years searching for the ancient city of Troy. After unearthing 9 Troys he claimed to have found the Troy of the Trojan War. However, later evidence showed that he actually found a much earlier Troy. Schliemann as an early archaeologist had a fine disregard for careful excavation and thus damaged many sites. He also spirited many of the artifacts out of the country - some of which are still in dispute today. In spite of his bragging and borderline d...more
I enjoy historical and biographical novels and I think Irving Stone is a master at bringing to life famous and interesting people from history. This book is about Henry and Sophia Schlieman. They lived during the 19th century. They had an incredible dream of finding the legendary city of Troy. They were scoffed by all scientific authorities, but they persisted in their archeological digs and found so much more. I enjoyed this novel.
Biography of Henry and Sophia Schlieman, Archeologists who unearthed the treasures of Troy at Mycenae. The treasure is not the gold, silver or bronze... but his wife Sohpia. She was an incredible owman of strength, courage and faith. Her obedience to her parents, to marry this man, thirty years her elder turned out to lead to an incredible adventure. Losses, successes, tragedy, a compelling story. A Great book
This book is tooooo long. Having said that, the information about the search for treasure mentioned in Homer, its success, and the couple who searched gave insight into an era long ago. I had to keep reminding myself that it was the middle of the 19th century. It's hard to believe that they travelled as much as they did, etc. It held my interest enough that I plowed through it.
Dec 29, 2012
Rebecca
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction-historical,
fiction-historical-greece
Bored bored bored bored bored.
If you have an interest in archeology and/or ancient greece/troy, you might enjoy this; but it's not a terribly big interest for me and relatively little else happened, and since it was more or less an arranged marriage, everything romantic felt forced and unreal.
If you have an interest in archeology and/or ancient greece/troy, you might enjoy this; but it's not a terribly big interest for me and relatively little else happened, and since it was more or less an arranged marriage, everything romantic felt forced and unreal.
One of my lesser-favorite Stone books. The writing is as good as the others, but the subject matter is of less interest to me. The archeological process is interesting enough, but the portrayal of Schliemann is unflattering ... he seems a rather selfish and boorish person.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Everytime I picked it up, I felt like I was reentering the Schliemanns life. Loved the Greek history, Greek culture and the demonstration of a give and take marriage. Dragged a bit at end- but inpired me to read Homer.
Another wonderful fictional bio by Stone. This one covers the discover of the historical Troy by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. Absolutely fascinating & meticulously researched.
Irving Stone is great at giving us a biography when otherwise one may not exist; his historical facts intertwined with the lives of the people he writes about make for a really captivating read.
I read this too long ago, so I don't remember much. What I do remember, however, is that it was a very engaging and engrossing book, and kept my younger self's attention for quite a while.
Jun 27, 2008
angelle
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to angelle by:
My mom got me hooked on biographical novels when I was in Jr. Hi
This book has it all -- intrigue, adventure, history, love, science, conflict, and human emotion. I would read it again this week if I had the time! I enjoy this American author (I have read four more of his biographical novels and would love to read them all). The book is a true account of Henry and Sophia Schliemann's life together, and tells their story from the time they married (she at 17 and he at age 47) and follows it until Henry's death. They work together in the field of archaeology an...more
Excellent reading about the treasures of Troy.True story.
Schliemann's grand villa still stands beautifully maintained in down town Athens.
Schliemann's grand villa still stands beautifully maintained in down town Athens.
Loved this story of real husband and wife team trying to discover acheological proof of the city of Troy.
Great read. I learned so much from this. Always wanted to be an archiologist. An adventure for sure.
I read this book in 2000, and it was just ok. Not one of his better ones. Pretty forgetable.
Good book. A little "bogged down" toward the end. Interesting subject.
This was good, but had a hard time focusing on the material presented.
A tedious book on a fascinating subject.
The best book I have ever read! :)))
I enjoyed this book a lot when I read it in th 80's. I liked reading novels of the period of ancient Greece and knew nothing of Henry Schliemann, who as an amateur archeologist, unearthed the remains of Troy dispite ridicule from the "pro's" of the time using literature of the ancient times to find clues.
Mr Schliemann made two or three small fortunes for himself before tackling Troy for fun and could stay in a room and learn a language in about 6 weeks as I remember.
Very interesting story.
Mr Schliemann made two or three small fortunes for himself before tackling Troy for fun and could stay in a room and learn a language in about 6 weeks as I remember.
Very interesting story.
I usually really enjoy Irving Stone. NOT this one! I enjoyed the history but beyond that....the characters were dull and un-enjoyable. Sorry Irving. This was a struggle to get through. Pooh.
Mar 13, 2008
Belinda
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those interested in Troy and exploration of its ruins
Recommended to Belinda by:
Tamara Stone
This is my favorite Irving Stone---the master of historical fiction---book! It covers the life of Henry Schlesinger and his discovery of Troy, an opportunity that was made possible, in part, because he married an Greek woman. Their love was as compelling as their discovery of antiquities.
Aug 28, 2007
Paula
is currently reading it
Recommends it for:
people who fall asleep reading history
Irving Stone's historical novels are great. He focuses enough on the details of peoples' personal lives and the culture around them that I stay interested in the story, and along the way I also absorb some of the historical significance of their life's work. (Easier than reading dry textbooks...)
It was really long, really bizarre and especially towards the end it was all just summary. But some of the Archeology stuff was kind of interesting.
Nov 09, 2007
Whitney Hemphill
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in history and a good book
I love reading about people's lives and this biographical novel has been a real pleasure. Learning not only about the discovery of the ancient city of Troy, but also becoming acquainted with the very interesting marriage of the Schliemanns has been really interesting.
I am loving this book. But I love historical biographies anyway. Stone writes so well, I feel I am right there with the Schleimanns as they uncover ancient Troy. I secretly always wanted to be an archiologist!
Mar 21, 2012
Erik Graff
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Stone fans
Recommended to Erik by:
no one
Shelves:
literature
Not knowing much about the discovery of Troy and having read a few of Stone's novelized biographies, I picked this up for a preliminary review. It wasn't great, but it was painless.
This is a fascinating novel about the Schliemanns, who were the first to find and excavate Troy. It got me interested in archaeology, Mycenaean history, and ancient Greek history.
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In 1923, Stone received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley. In the 1960s, Stone received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Southern California, where he had previously earned a Masters Degree from the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences.
When at home, Stone relied upon the research facilities and expertise made available to him by Esther Euler...more
More about Irving Stone...
When at home, Stone relied upon the research facilities and expertise made available to him by Esther Euler...more
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Aug 29, 2007 08:51am