Published in 1881, this is chronicles the author's love for Italy and the rest he enjoyed there in a lifetime of holidays. Chapters concentrate on a specific town, castle or church with drawings and asides that provide context for his recollections. Reminds me of the difference between traveling and tourism.

After fighting courageously in the Trojan War, Odysseus has been trying to get home for the past 20 years. Telemachus, the son of Odysseus can only watch as his father's estate is ruined by the evil suitors of his mother, who think Odysseuss in long dead. Hoping to learn of his father Telemachus sets on a journey guided by the goddess Athena, unaware that the wicked suitors plan to kill him. Meanwhile Odysseus has been held captive on the island of the cunning goddess, Calypso for the last seven yeaers. After the gods convince Calypso to free Odysseus, he builds a raft only to be shipwrecked on theh land of the Phaecians. Here he tells them what befell him after Troy this includes his narrow escape from the cyclops Polyhemus, the crafty goddess Circe, the land of the Lotus-eaters, Aeolus keeper of the winds, his voyage to the underworld and many other adventures. Will Odysseus and his son come home alive to punish the suitors, or will they die far from home? This book is for anyone who loves adventre and excitement, even if you never read Greek Mythology before you will love the adventures of Odysseus.The Odyssey is filled with betrayal, magic, myghical beasts, the wrath of the gods and the foolishness of human nature.

This book offers a lively and detailed reading of Homer's "The Odyssey", episode by episode, with particular attention paid to the manipulative power of its language and homer's skill in using that power. The author explores how myth is shaped for specific, rhetorical reasons and suggest ways in which the epic uses its audience's awareness of the varied pool of mythic traditions to give "The Odyssey" remarkable and subtle resonances that have profound power. This book is a perfect introduction for non-specialist general readers, as well as very pertinent for the serious student of Hellenic literature

Robert Fagles's translation of Homer's Iliad is spiritually if not literally true to the original. Both versions repeat set speeches and descriptions in precisely the same words, and the translation exhibits a fairly regular rhythmic beat. But Homer's Greek was chanted, and the set passages were like refrains in which listeners could, if they chose, join in as a chorus. In English, the repetitions sometimes become tedious, especially when the same speech is given three times in two pages, as in the relay of Zeus's orders in Book II. Especially noteworthy is Bernard Knox's long and fascinating Introduction, a masterpiece of literary criticism and scholarship which conveys Homer's grim attitude toward war, the interplay of divine and human will, and the ancient concepts of honor, courage, and virility in the face of the stark finality of death. Knox also includes a succinct explanation of the quantitative, rather than accentual, basis of Greek (and Latin) verse. For easy readability, Fagles's translation is without rival. For elegance and poetry, however, I recommend Richmond Lattimore's older but still gripping and fluent translation.

Robert Fagles's translation of Homer's Iliad is spiritually if not literally true to the original. Both versions repeat set speeches and descriptions in precisely the same words, and the translation exhibits a fairly regular rhythmic beat. But Homer's Greek was chanted, and the set passages were like refrains in which listeners could, if they chose, join in as a chorus. In English, the repetitions sometimes become tedious, especially when the same speech is given three times in two pages, as in the relay of Zeus's orders in Book II. Especially noteworthy is Bernard Knox's long and fascinating Introduction, a masterpiece of literary criticism which conveys Homer's grim attitude toward war, the interplay of divine and human will, and the ancient concepts of honor, courage, and virility in the face of the stark finality of death. Knox also includes a succinct explanation of the quantitative, rather than accentual, basis of Greek (and Latin) verse. For easy readability, Fagles's translation is without rival. For elegance and poetry, however, I recommend Richmond Lattimore's older but still gripping and fluent translation.

Robert Fagles's translation of Homer's Iliad is spiritually if not literally true to the original. Both versions repeat set speeches and descriptions in precisely the same words, and the translation exhibits a fairly regular rhythmic beat. But Homer's Greek was chanted, and the set passages were like refrains in which listeners could, if they chose, join in as a chorus. In English, the repetitions sometimes become tedious, especially when the same speech is given three times in two pages, as in the relay of Zeus's orders in Book II. Especially noteworthy is Bernard Knox's long and fascinating Introduction, a masterpiece of literary criticism and scholarship which conveys Homer's grim attitude toward war, the interplay of divine and human will, and the ancient concepts of honor, courage, and virility in the face of the stark finality of death. Knox also includes a succinct explanation of the quantitative, rather than accentual, basis of Greek (and Latin) verse. For easy readability, Fagles's translation is without rival. For elegance and poetry, however, I recommend Richmond Lattimore's older but still gripping and fluent translation.

Samuel Butler does a neat balancing act with "Erewhon," a novel that is equal parts fictitious travelogue, philosophical tract, social/political/religious satire, and adventure story complete with a romantic subplot. The protagonist, a young Englishman named Higgs who is unsatisfied with employment prospects in his home country, moves to a distant colonized land where he takes a job as a shepherd. Beyond a mountain range there lie some mysterious lands that he would like to explore, and, setting out one day with a timid guide who later abandons him, he eventually gets to the other side of the peaks and finds himself in an isolated country named Erewhon.

One of the first things Higgs notes is that Erewhon is a few hundred years behind the times technologically. They have no modern mechanical conveniences, and when Higgs is discovered to own a watch, it is confiscated and he is put in prison. Later released and placed into the custody of a rich man named Mr. Nosnibor, Higgs learns all about the bizarre customs and beliefs of the Erewhonians.

In Erewhon, sickness is punishable by law and criminal acts are treated medically by people called "straighteners"; so, stealing a pair of socks is analogous to feeling a bit under the weather. The Erewhon banking system is a facade, as their money is worthless. The Erewhonians believe in an ethereal prenatal world where babies are given the (preferred) option not to be born into the mortal world. Their institutions of higher education, the Colleges of Unreason, teach conformity and resist originality and progress. Most importantly, they condemn technological advancement because of the fear that machines will continue evolving so rapidly that they will eventually develop a consciousness, out-evolve man, and take control of the world. Imagine how the Erewhonians would have despaired over the realization of artificial intelligence!

How have the Erewhonians arrived at all of these beliefs? Higgs concludes that their belief system is a result of gullibility -- they tend to put their faith in anybody who comes up with a convincing argument for whatever agenda he's trying to push. They don't analyze, question, or challenge; they just accept the status quo until somebody with a big mouth (but not necessarily a big brain) decides the status quo needs to be changed. In this way, one man who thinks killing animals is wrong convinces the people to become vegetarians; another man who likes meat convinces the people that killing plants is an even greater sin.

This book has a lot of targets, some not all that obvious, but I think Butler was prophesying a world in which demagoguery takes the place of common sense and reason, a world through which he was satirizing organized religion, sentimental notions of familial sanctity, and the complacency of the Victorian middle class. I've also read "The Way of All Flesh," but I find "Erewhon" to be a better representative of Butler's skewering cynicism and sly humor.

Social satire has ever been an interesting and delightful way to discover and examine the basics of human behaviour and believing, both to show the weakness of logic and the strength of hypocrisy of many rules and customs. Butler, in his novel, developes this theme as a XIX century writer can do. The result is a pleasing reading, made a bit difficult by a slightly obsolete style and too much care of details, which sometimes gives some obstacles to thread. An example of how, about half a century later, a writer could have faced the same subject is given by new world by Huxley. The book is nonetherless quite readable, and an example of the high level tradition in which Butler can stand together with Swift.

Samuel Butler's 'Erewhon' is a tale of a simple shepherd who travels too far in his foreign country, (unnamed, but based on New Zealand), only to find another, hidden Country where the sick are imprisoned and the criminal are 'healed'. This previously unknown society is described in detail as to its workings, and seems irrational in its execution.
People you will meet in the travels and travails of this poor lost fellow are of various interesting sorts; including the straighteners, who are doctors for the criminally ill. Our shepherd, visits the musical bank, the College of Unreason, and in detail describes how the people of Erewhon dress and act.
The book was written, in part, to be a criticism of Victorian England, but really stands as a literary classic. Certainly provides amusing entertainment, it is also an interesting look at society in general. Highly recomended for C.S. Lewis and Tolkien fans, this book is indispensable as is the sequel, 'EREWHON REVISITED'.

Ever since I started learning Koine Greek I keep having the thought that I must at some point pick up Classical Greek in order to read Homer in the original. Thoreau said that all men must read Homer in the original. Maybe he is right. I don't know.

If Homer is half the poet that Robert Fagles's translation makes him out to be--it will be well worth the effort. In his book "How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry," Edward Hirsch says that poems are like messages in bottles that make their way unseen across oceans of time and culture to unforeseen readers. When I uncorked this bottle I was blown away by the song it sang.

Fagles has impeccable descriptive power, which he blends with stunning imagery and timing. I recommend this book highly...come, be swept along on the heroic tides of this wine-dark sea. Experience the Odyssey the way it was meant to be.

Fagle's translation of THE ODYSSEY in the Penguin edition is an almost perfect act of publishing. The translation itself manages to be enormously readable, highly poetic, and extremely accurate, all at the same time. The Introduction by Bernard Knox should serve as a model for all scholars who are called upon to write critical introductions for classic works of literature. And the book design is is extraordinary; this edition of Homer's classic is easily one of the most attractive paperback books in my library. I had read this once before in translation (in the old Rieu version), and then later translated much of it in a second year Greek class. But in neither instance did I enjoy it as much as reading the Fagles's translation.

Aristotle did not think that people should study philosophy too early in life, and perhaps that is also true of reading Homer. Part of me feels that we make a mistake in our education systems by making students read THE ODYSSEY before they are in a position to appreciate it. If one looks through the reviews here, a very large number of very negative reviews by a lot of high school students can be found. I find this unfortunate. In part I regret that we are forcing younger readers to read this book before they have fully matured as readers. Perhaps the book and the students themselves would be better served if we allowed them time to grow a bit more as readers before asking them to tackle Homer.

THE ODYSSEY is so enormously enjoyable (at least for this adult reader) that it is easy to forget just how very old it is. What impresses me is how readable it is, despite its age. There are very, very few widely read works older than THE ILIAD and THE ODYSSEY. And the gap between how entertaining these works are and those that come before them is gigantic. Try reading THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH or even THE HESIOD and then turning to THE ODYSSEY, and one can grasp my point. This is a very, very old work of literature, but it wears its age lightly. In the end, the greatest praise one can pay THE ODYSSEY is the fact that it can be read for fun, and not just because it is a classic.

Firstly, some of the reviews have given poor ratings to this epic poem because they did not like the story of the Odyssey and not because it was a bad translation. In fact it is the best I've ever read. Pope's translation of course is more poetic but it is not at all accessible. Fagles does a wonderful job in updating the language to modern English so that we can understand the story. Also at the back of the book are notes and a short glossary so that if you are not familiar with any of the references to Gods for example you can look it up and learn more about Greek mythology. Finally Fagles has a great introduction (with maps) that gives you background into the world of Homer.

This is an excellent reading of Samuel Butler's 1900 prose translation of The Odyssey; however, it is not unabridged, as it claims. Butler's translation runs to about 118,000 words. This 6-hour recording appears to contain a little more than half the text.

My children (8 and 12 years), as well as the adults in our family, totally enjoyed this four hour cassette version of Homer's Odyssey. Roger Rees, who performs the Odyssey, does a great job. Such a good job, in fact, that we intend to purchase the Iliad, which he also records under the New Millennium Audio label. This audio tape is certainly not a substitute for reading the book, but for children too young to read it but who are interested in ancient Greek culture, literature, and mythology, these tapes are great. In addition, these tapes are great entertainment for the whole family on the road or in other circumstances where reading the text isn't convenient.

The book deals with Higgs' return to Erewhon. Some unpleasant surprises are in store for him, place is entirely unrecognizable due to new religion - sunchildism. Higgs, the Sunchild, finds it hard to beleive how his sayings got so corrupted and is unable to do anything about it. Declaration that he is the Sunchild only brings his life in danger, since professors of Music Banks are not going to let go new lucrative businees just like that. Fascinating book, dealing with rise of new religion out of one "miracle" (i.e. unexplainable event such as Higgs escape in a baloon) account of which grew out of proportion every year.

This book is exceptionally good. The translation is clear, and easy to understand. I recommend this book to anyone who likes fiction and are interested in these gods and goddesses. This book keeps you entertained and you don't want to put this book down once you start reading until your finished reading it. It keeps your attention and it doesn't leave you with any questions unanswered. I recommend this book to anyone interested.

This is a short biography of Samuel Butler, written by Henry Festing Jones, a personal friend of his. This book covers all of his life, from his wasted youth, through his loss of religion, his authorship of Erewhon and The Way of All Flesh, and on to his death. Being written by a friend, this book contains no surprises and very little analysis. However, if you want a quick introduction to Samuel Butler, then this book is for you.