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Travels with Herodotus

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Herodotus, the fifth-century chronicler, scarcely figured in the curriculum when famed Polish writer and traveler Ryszard Kapuscinski attended university in the 1950s. After he finished college, Ryszard became a foreign correspondent who hoped 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 him from Iran to El Salvador, from Angola to Armenia.

His only companion on his travels was a volume of Herodotus, a gift from his first boss. In his journey across continents, Kapuscinski discovers his life's work: to understand and describe the non-Western world in its remotest reaches, in all its variety, through his still-virginal Western eyes. Throughout his travels, the journalist tests and emulates Herodotus' methods—to wander, look, talk, and listen—so that he can later recount what he saw and learned.

©2007 Ryszard Kapuscinski (P)2007 Phoenix Books, Inc. Art & Literature Asia India Journalists, Editors & Publishers South Asia Travel Writing & Commentary Ancient History Middle East Ancient Greece Africa
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I really enjoyed Travels with Herodotus and give it five stars. It’s incredibly original—part autobiography, part travel book, part history anthology. Kapuściński weaves his wartime childhood in Poland, his first fumbling steps as a journalist in India, and his discovery of Herodotus into one seamless narrative. What struck me most is how he uses Herodotus’s stories as a mirror for his own travels, bringing ancient history vividly to life. If you love personal memoir, post–WWII history, or just want an unconventional travel tale, this book is a must-read.

Totally original

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