3.5
The Ancient Guide to Modern Life
ByPublisher Description
In this thoroughly engaging book, Natalie Haynes brings her scholarship and wit to the most fascinating true stories of the ancient world.
not only reveals the origins of our culture in areas including philosophy, politics, language, and art, it also draws illuminating connections between antiquity and our present time, to demonstrate that the Greeks and Romans were not so different from ourselves: Is Bart Simpson the successor to Aristophanes? Do the Beckhams have parallel lives with The Satiricon's Trimalchio? Along the way Haynes debunks myths (gladiators didn't salute the emperor before their deaths, and the last words of Julius Caesar weren't "et tu, brute?"). From Athens to Zeno's paradox, this irresistible guide shows how the history and wisdom of the ancient world can inform and enrich our lives today.
"A romp through some of the best-known, and some of the more obscure, writers, thought, and stories of Greece and Rome." —
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Ancient Guide to Modern Life Reviews
3.5
“A wonderfully rich exploration of themes that carry through from Ancient Greece and Rome to our modern world.
Taking in topics including politics, drama, philosophy, crime, economy and family dynamics, Haynes handles everything in a delightfully accessible way while flexing obvious academic muscle.”
“I really enjoyed this wonderful analysis of how aspects of ancient Greece and Rome have influenced modern life. The author is extremely knowledgeable about the classics and makes interesting observations. I feel like I learned a lot. I listened to the audiobook well-narrated by Dan Mersh.”
About Natalie Haynes
Natalie Haynes appears regularly on BBC Television's Newsnight Review and BBC Radio 4's Saturday Review and Front Row. she writes for the Sunday Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday, The New Humanist, and the Times. she earned her degree in classics at Cambridge and has worked as an award-winning stand-up comedian. she lives in London.
Other books by Natalie Haynes
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