Title: The Ancient Guide to Modern Life
Author: Natalie Haynes
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Overlook Press
Pub Date: May 2011
Read: Jun 2011
Source: NYPL – Mid-Manhattan branch
Why: at BEA, Kate Gales of Overlook Press recommended it to me but I didn’t snatch it up fast enough. When I came back, someone had already gotten it, WOMP WOMP!
Fulfills Challenge? Yes (2)
Notes: I’ve always been fascinated by Ancient Greece though I haven’t always acted on that interest. I say I want to read more Greek plays, then I don’t. I say I want to read more mythology books…then I don’t, etc. So this was my first foray into “making good” on that non-existent promise to learn more about Ancient Greece.
Review/Thoughts:
“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.”
Ancient history? Pish posh! Natalie Haynes reminds us why studying the classics is still important. Her writing is straightforward but never “dumbed down” making The Ancient Guide to Modern Life an excellent introduction for those wanting to learn more but who either don’t know where to start or find some other texts too heavy. Dividing the history of Greek and Roman civilization into eight manageable sections (democracy, money, philosophy, entertainment, etc), Haynes presents us with a nice overview of life in ancient times. Each section could easily be turned into an entirely separate book, but Haynes provides enough information for understanding without overwhelming the reader. The point is to instruct and spark one’s interest, not drown the reader with so much information that they’re deterred, and Haynes strikes a perfect balance between informative and accessible. Along the way she debunks myths and falsehoods and contextualizes policies and behavior without condemning or excusing them. She’s also funny to boot. One of my favorite lines came early in the book when describing how most people probably feel when they first hear the abbreviated story of the Trojan Horse,
No wonder the Trojans had lost the war. They were idiots. ‘Beware of Greeks bearing gifts’ didn’t really cover it. ‘Beware of Trojans, they’re too stupid to live’ was closer to the mark
Of course she then goes on to explain the full story of why the Trojans accepted this gift, showing that they weren’t so stupid after all, merely outsmarted by thorough and clever Greeks.
I also really enjoyed this little anecdote about where the term “lick into shape” comes from,
The Romans believed that a newborn bear wasn’t yet bear-shaped, but a furry blob which needed some work. The mother bear licked her cub, not to clean it, but to turn it from protean bear-matter into the shape of a small bear.
All in all I really enjoyed this book and glad it was brought to my attention. Some sections for me were more interesting than others because of my own personal preferences (e.g. I’ve always been more fascinated by the Greeks than Romans), but Haynes does an excellent job with all of it. And at the back of the book, Haynes provides a short list of good places to continue if you want to learn more. For me, this has definitely re-sparked my interest in some of the Greek plays I still haven’t read The Oresteia, Medea, Electra, Andromache, Hecabe, Hippolytus, etc. Perhaps I’ll do some kind of Greek reading challenge in 2012.
Final Verdict: 
Brilliant! I love the origins of word and sayings, that’s a new one to me. I read The Oresteia for a class on the Sacred Feminine (eek!) during my Masters in Women and Gender Studies. I have to say I much prefer reading books about those plays than the actual texts themselves, it’s all over my head I’m afraid.
Oh this is my next book for sure. It sounds awesome!