From the renowned journalist comes this intimate account of his years in the field, traveling for the first time beyond the Iron Curtain to India, China, Ethiopia, and other exotic locales. In the 1950s, Ryszard Kapuscinski finished university in Poland and became a foreign correspondent, hoping to go abroad - perhaps to Czechoslovakia. Instead, he was sent to India - the first stop on a decades-long tour of the world that took Kapuscinski from Iran to El Salvador, from Angola to Armenia. Revisiting his memories of traveling the globe with a copy of Herodotus' Histories in tow, Kapuscinski describes his awakening to the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of new environments, and how the words of the Greek historiographer helped shape his own view of an increasingly globalized world. Written with supreme eloquence and a constant eye to the global undercurrents that have shaped the last half-century, Travels with Herodotus is an exceptional chronicle of one man's journey across continents.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
The best book of 2008 (on my list of have-reads):
I am celebrating the first day of 2009 by reviewing the best book I read in 2008. And the winner is -- "Travels with Herodotus," by Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski, who died of a fast cancer in early 2007. This book, along with "The Other," was published posthumously. Here is a man, landlocked and controlled by communism, whose greatest dream was to cross the border, just go over and return. A couple of years later, his editor sent him to India (!) with a copy of Herodotus's "Histories." This... more info
A great valedictory from a superb author:
Ryszard Kapuscinski's works -- often described as "literary reportage" -- transcended genres. They blended travel with history, current affairs with political theory, biography with philosophy. And all with wit and sensistivity -- a rare and remarkable accomplishment. So it's somehow fitting that Kapuscinski's final book should be the one where he looks back at how his peripatetic life and, for that matter, how his yearning to peer over the horizon (literally and rhetorically) took root in his... more info
Awesome book.:
Two stories in one book. One is what Kapuscinski see, second the world in Herodotus eyes. I love his book, because he gives me another perspective on live and I can learn a lot too.
Makes you want to read Herodotus:
While I read Herodotus many years ago, this book made me dust it off and reread it again. A great book for travellers, and to get you in the mood for your next adventure.
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