Books of All Time

"Know your enemy, know yourself, and victory is never in doubt, not in a hundred battles." So wrote the legendary Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu sometime in the 6th or possibly 5th or possibly 4th century BCE. While Sun Tzu's existence and the exact date of the composition of the text associated with his name are uncertain, the work has influenced commanders, diplomats, C-suite executives, and World Cup-winning soccer coaches for more than two thousand years. In this episode, host Rose Judson walks through all 13 chapters of The Art of War and is surprised to find that a good two-thirds of it could be called The Art of Avoiding War Until You Absolutely Can't Anymore.Want to read a transcript or see our reference list for this episode? Click here. Don't forget to find us on Bluesky, Instagram, or Facebook - and leave a rating or review wherever you listen! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If Herodotus is the father of history, who are some of his children? This episode looks into it. Starting with a brief look at Herodotus's reputation down the ages, we examine the works of three ancient historians whose works can be said to derive from our pal Herodotus. They include:Thucydides of Athens (c. 460-404 BCE), who purged his History of the Peloponnesian War of all that messy stuff about myths and gossipProcopius of Caesarea (c. 500-565 CE), who worked as an official historian for the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I - all while writing The Secret History about the nasty business Justinian got up to with his wifeGeoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095-1195 CE), a patriotic Welshman whose pseudo-historical History of the Kings of Britain inspired generations of poets and writers with its detailed legends of King Arthur (and its "prophecies" by "Merlin" which include a lot of talk about a hedgehog in Winchester)We also check in with the 26th American president, Teddy Roosevelt, who had some thoughts about history as literature. Bully!Note: Thanks to Procopius, this episode discusses quite a bit of sexual content. Please use discretion when listening.Want to read the transcript? Click here. You can also follow us on Bluesky or leave us a rating or review to help others find the show. Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week we summarized books 1-5 of Herodotus's Histories. This week we cover books 6-9, which is heaving with military history. Marathon! Thermopylae! Salamis! While not as entertaining as the initial parts of the Histories, there are some iconic scenes and characters to meet here, from surprisingly sensitive Xerxes to the brave, doomed Spartan King Leonidas. Listen now!Want to read a transcript? Click here. Don't forget to follow us on social media. Thanks also for your ratings and reviews! They really help people find the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Year two begins with a two-part summary episode! Herodotus of Halicarnassus (c. 484 - 425 BCE) wrote his epic history of the Greco-Persian wars and was an instant sensation. The Histories ("history" in those days meaning an inquiry or research) cover the rise of the Persians, the customs of all the peoples with whom they fought, architecture, geography, animals, religious practices, and smutty court gossip. This episode covers the first five books of The Histories, and (trigger warning) also mentions Dick Van Dyke.Want a transcript? Click here. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a rating or review! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fasting, abstaining from sex, risking the literal wrath of god - today's method actors have nothing on the pioneers of ancient Athenian drama. Following on from our episode about Aeschylus's Oresteia, this episode offers an overview of Greek tragedy and the theater - how it evolved from ritual, what actors and chorus members did on stage, and how an awful lot of the surrounding pageantry reminds our host Rose of the NFL.Want to read a transcript or check out Rose's reading list for this episode? Click here. Don't forget to leave us a rating or review (and share us on your socials). Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cycles of violence. Legacies handed from famous fathers to uncertain sons. The trajectory of a society moving from retribution to democracy and justice. Robert F. Kennedy probably did not have all these things in mind on April 4, 1968 when he announced the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. to a crowd in Indianapolis. But he brought them to the surface nevertheless by quoting the ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus, father of tragedy in his successful attempt to keep the city at peace on that terrible night: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."It was a scene worthy of Aeschylus himself. This week, walk through the plot of the Oresteia, the only complete triology of Aeschylus's we still have. It tells the story of a family laboring under a curse, and how that curse came to be lifted.To read the transcript of this play or browse our reading list and reference links, please click here. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking for some divine assistance on a tough decision? Have you considered shooting some arrows? Dropping oil in water? What about sacrificing a sheep? This week's episode uses the Book of Isaiah, the first work of prophecy on our reading list, as a springboard for looking at divination, magic, and prophecy in the ancient world.Need a transcript or want to check out the references Rose used to write this episode? Click here to visit our website. Don't forget to rate and review us or share us on your socials! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For episode 24, we return to the Hebrew Bible. By itself, the Book of Isaiah is one of humanity's most influential works of spiritual literature. In addition to laying the foundations of Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, Isaiah has contributed dozens of phrases into our language, such as "swords into plowshares", "a little child shall lead them," and, of course, "a voice in the wilderness." Follow along with Rose Judson as she walks through it, talking you through the historical context, theories about how and where it was written, and, well, a few euphemisms for bodily functions.Apologies for the sound quality in this episode: we had to re-record at short notice.Want to read the transcript? This link will take you straight to it, and to this episode's reading list. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review us! You can also follow us on Bluesky, Instagram, and Facebook. Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Snarky, satirical, scatological - how did the original Aesop's Fables wind up getting sanitized for children? This week's episode follows the thread through two thousand years of interpretation and adaptation, from Roman villas to medieval scriptoria to French drawing rooms.Want to read a transcript? Here you go! Don't forget to rate and review us on your podcast app of choice - it really helps people find the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy New Year! This is just a short announcement to let you all know that BoAT episode 23 will be out on January 9th. Also, we are coming to the end of the year 1 reading list! Year 2 will be out later this month. Prepare for a Greek drama overload, plus our first visit to Persia and, toward the end of the year, Rome!Thanks for sticking with us this year! We appreciate each and every one of you, and wish you all the best for 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.