- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Ebury Press (6 Jun 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0091884802
- ISBN-13: 978-0091884802
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.4 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,535,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Sunday Times, June 2, 2002
"Perrottet is an energetic joker and a wry tale-teller, but there's a lot of learning as well...a sparkling adventure"
New York Times, June 2, 2002
"An appealing...mix of the zany and the arcane, juggling an energetic account of ancient Roman travel habits with a witty record of his own modern journey"
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Tony Perrottet has accomplished a very difficult task with this book. He has meshed Bill Bryson with Juvenal, combining the self-deprecation and appreciation of the sometimes down-at-heel charms of other countries with 2000-year-old Roman Satire. Not an easy thing, but he intersperses an entertaining travelog with well-researched and superbly referenced historical fact. These facts are both supported and brought to life with anecdote and citation from a wide variety of ancient sources.
To put my appreciation of this book into context, I was in Books etc looking for a different travel book and this jumped off the shelf at me, possibly due to its rather tacky cover. When I read the back, it looked perfect since I graduated with a degree in Classics 8 years ago and have, only in the last 2 months, found my passion for the subject reawakening.
Having said this, you don't need a degree in the subject to enjoy the book. In fact, he serves the novice to the subject just as well as those who know a bit about the ancient world. In all, heartily recommended. Why only 5 stars? Because there's no such thing as the perfect book.
Wouldn't it be nice to read the book while following the journey he takes...
To put my appreciation of this book into context, I was in Books etc looking for a different travel book and this jumped off the shelf at me, possibly due to its rather tacky cover. When I read the back, it looked perfect since I graduated with a degree in Classics 8 years ago and have, only in the last 2 months, found my passion for the subject reawakening.
Having said this, you don't need a degree in the subject to enjoy the book. In fact, he serves the novice to the subject just as well as those who know a bit about the ancient world. In all, heartily recommended. Why only 5 stars? Because there's no such thing as the perfect book.
Wouldn't it be nice to read the book while following the journey he takes...
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As an ancient history student, studying the classic worlds of Rome and Greece, it is easy to feel removed and distant from the past and the people about whom you are studying but Tony's book breathes life into the people and places that once existed. Not only is it an invaluable source of historical facts but more importantly he has also included an abundant amount of information on daily life, combining indepth descriptions of both the modern and ancient versions of the cities he visited along the way. Route 66AD makes history real and fun and gives a whole new perspective on what life was like for the ancients compared to some of the dusty old cumbersome accounts I have read in the past.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This has got to be the most original travel book I've ever read. I bought it because I love Italy and the Aegean, and I'm going back to Greece and Turkey next month. By looking at the Mediterranean through the eyes of ancient tourists, the book brings the Roman world to life in a unique way -- who would have guessed they were really so raunchy? -- and the author's own adventures are often quite hilarious. He gets to meet loony hermit monks in Arcadia and dive on the ruins of a Roman villa in Naples. The part where he goes to a Nubian wedding made me cry with laughter! I think this is the perfect book to take with you on a trip to Italy, Greece or Turkey (or if you're game, Egypt!)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
the perfect primer for any Mediterranean trip
Like most people, I had a vague idea of the ancient world, mostly gleaned from 'I, Claudius' reruns -- so when I decided on a trip to Italy, Greece and Turkey, I packed this book! Read more
Published on 12 July 2004 by "constanttraveler"
A glass of Mummy's Armpit, perhaps?
PAGAN HOLIDAY is descriptive, instructive and marvelously entertaining - prerequisites, in my opinion, for a 5-star travel essay. Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2004 by Joseph Haschka
The Macho Aussie Tour of Rome
I'm sure he was exaggerating for comic effect, but Perrottet came across as being a bit too macho Aussie. The hotels he and girlfriend Les stayed in were squalid and uncomfortable. Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2004 by takingadayoff
He Came, He Saw, She Concurred...
This is the best travel book I've read in a long, long time. Mr. Perrottet seamlessly joins together information about ancient Roman tourists with amusing, wry commentary on his... Read more
Published on 10 Dec 2002 by Bruce Loveitt
An ideal European holiday read
The idea of a travel book that offers a lot of history may not be new but this is a very successful and novel version. Read more
Published on 23 July 2002 by 500weasels
fresh view of the ancient world
I picked up this book because I'd seen the author's stories in the Sunday Times travel section (one on sailing in Turkey, the other on diving in Alexandria in Egypt). Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2002 by baz wharton
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