In Search of the Trojan War, Updated edition by Michæl Wood (PDF)

Description

Tales of Troy and its heroes—Achilles and Hector, Paris and the legendary beauty Helen—have fired the human imagination for 3,000 years. With In Search of the Trojan War, Michael Wood brings vividly to life the legend and lore of the Heroic Age in an archaeological adventure that sifts through the myths and speculation to provide a fresh view of the riches and the reality of ancient Troy.This gripping story shows why the legend of Troy forms the bedrock of Western culture and why its past is a paradigm of human history. Wood’s meticulous scholarly sleuthing yields fascinating evidence about the continuity and development of human civilization in the Aegean and Asia Minor. With its 50 feet of debris resulting from constant rebuilding, human destruction, earthquake, and abandonment, the mound of Troy contains the beginnings and ends of new races and civilizations.This edition includes a new preface, a new final chapter, and an addendum to the bibliography that take account of dramatic new developments in the search for Troy with the rediscovery, in Moscow, of the so-called Jewels of Helen and the re-excavation of the site of Troy, which began in 1988 and is yielding new evidence about the historical city.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “A dazzling and exhaustive analysis.”–“Washington Post Book World About the Author Michael Wood is a writer and historian living in England. He is the author of several highly acclaimed books including In Search of the Trojan War (California, 1989). From The Washington Post “A dazzling and exhaustive analysis.” Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is the book that got me interested in archeology and how it intersects with history. Archeology must be open minded, willing to follow legend as well as history to uncover new evidence.This book inspired me to read other titles such as “Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings” by Charles Hapgood, “Stonehenge Decoded” by Gerald Hawkins and “The Pyramids: An Enigma Solved” by Joseph Davidovits. You really need these stepping stones to appreciate the theories espoused in Graham Hancock’s “Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization” or consider the evidence compiled in “Forbidden Archeology” by Michael Cremo.Many still scoff at any divergence from mainstream timelines, but the discovery of Gobekli Tepe has shaken the dogmatic foundations of recorded human history by proving how incomplete the records are.

⭐This is my 2nd purchase of this book. I’m a lifelong fan and after losing this book in a move, I had to buy it again. It’s perfect!

⭐This is the most lyrical of histories. Beautifully, even poetically, written, it explores everything from linguistic and historical evidence to modern parallels with the warrior culture of the Greeks. The author interweaves his own experiences in both sailing boats and travel to relevant sites to bring the Iliad and Odyssey to life. A marvelous endeavor, and a great pleasure to read. Highly recommended to anyone interested in deep history and the truth behind the legends.

⭐I have the original version as well as the PBS series shows. Michael Wood makes a powerful case for the Trojan War, and this book only reinforces that case.There really was a city called Troy, and it was involved in a war give or take 1250 BC with the Greeks. The Iliad is a sort of record of the last year of that war, and is only one of several tales told about this conflict. Read this book and decide for yourselves.

⭐Michael Wood always does an outstanding job on his classical history books. This one should be on your list if you like this topic; a lot of archaeology and history woven together in the discovering the truth of the Trojan War. Wood does an excellent job putting it all together. Stories of the famous academics, professors, historians, and all look at fairly.

⭐This book was ordered as a replacement for the DVD I had ordered went astray. I had seen the original documentary and enjoyed it thoroughly. Item is in pristine condition and arrived quickly.

⭐This precursor of the movie version by Michael Wood traces not only the search for Troy but ties in so many other countries, culture, and history of the 20th century, it is a must read for serious history buffs. The reading level is college but don’t think it’s dry. Mr. Wood can make the stones speak.

⭐Great pictorial history of the long and often confusing search for Troy. Great addition to my collection of facts and photos.

⭐I almost hate to give this book just four stars, but as much as I enjoyed it, I did have a a minor issue that just made it fall short of the five star treatment.Michael Wood brilliantly takes us through the discovery of Troy and it’s many layers, the colorful characters involved in the discovery, as well as the discovery of places relevant to the legend and history of the Trojan War(s). He makes a great case for the kernels of truth in Homer’s epic that have tantalizing evidence to back them up. He is also very good at providing tantalizing evidence for what probably didn’t happen. The speculative tangents are fun to read as well. In that sense, the book is faultless for me.What took it down a notch for me was the final chapter, which is an update of the first edition of this book. It just felt as though there was little in the way of substance in terms of new evidence with a final, long speculative tangent tacked onto it like the bows they would tape to newborn girls’ heads in hospitals when they had no hair. It felt as though it didn’t quite belong, and that the speculations were filler. There is nothing wrong with the speculation in and of itself, and he clearly states that it is just that. It just felt as though he could have updated us with that in other relevant parts of the book and left the last chapter to his final, organized speculations.I would still read it again and probably more than once.

⭐I bought the original hardback edition (1985) when the TV series was shown. I bought the latest (2008) paperback edition in order to catch up with the latest developments. The book contains much more than appeared in the series – the six episodes are expanded into eight chapters – but whilst the first edition was profusely illustrated with figures and photographs, the paperback has just a solitary map. This is a serious drawback for those coming to this book for the first time. For instance, the hardback edition has an extremely useful diagram showing the layers of the city from 3600 BCE to 1500 CE, as well as details of Spratt’s map of 1839, helpful plans, and a rich source of archive photographs. When Wood describes the gold objects that Schliemann uncovered at Mycenae, one craves for a view but only the hardback has the colour plates that will satisfy.In his new preface Wood notes that, “The first edition of this book told the story of the three great excavations … Each claimed to have answered the riddle of the Trojan War, though each found a different war in a different level of the site. None has been universally accepted as solving the mystery.” The last dig was in 1938, but an extensive new excavation led by Manfred Korfmann – Wood writes that his name “will now take its place alongside the greats of the past” – commenced at the site in 1988. Wood notes that, “Already, it is safe to say, a number of outstanding problems about Troy seem likely to be resolved.” And it is with relief that Wood points out that these new excavations have not disproved his speculations of twenty year before; “indeed, if anything they seem more, rather than less likely to be correct.” Wood has added a final chapter to his original book and the bibliography has been updated too.Most of the new evidence is contained in a fifteen-page postscript, entitled `The Trojan War Found Again?’. Here he refers to the finds made at Besika Bay (including the tomb of Achilles?), and the continuity of settlement at Troy after its fall. He also reviews the new evidence from the Hittite sources and the resulting effect on his theories. He concludes that, “the hypothesis of a historical Troy and Trojan War is now stronger” but that the search is far from over.As for the bulk of the book, it is word-for-word the same as the original, save for a few minor changes to make the narrative – and his dating – tauter, to remove errors or add new facts, or to subtly change emphasis. For example, we now have “early societies” in place of “primitive societies”; Pharaoh Amenophis III is replaced by Akhenaten; the word `Sanskrit’ has been added to Celtic, Germanic, and Greek in the list of languages linked to that of the Hittites; and Schliemann is no longer “a liar” but “a teller of tall stories”, although Wood otherwise refers to the “lies” he told. Some areas of text have been completely rewritten, such as the last few sentences of chapter five and quite a few lines on the Hittites. Seven long paragraphs have also been inserted in the chapter on the end of the Greek Bronze Age, augmenting his speculation. Unfortunately, the revision of the paperback edition still openly refers to “photographs (some of which appear in this book”. No they don’t!It would have been useful to have in the margins references to the relevant book and lines of `The Iliad’ when direct allusions are made to Homer in the text. Apart from the lack of illustrations and maps, another aspect of the new edition that does not do it justice is the revised index.This book was a pleasure to read again, despite the moans I make about its shoddy new presentation. He is very persuasive in his interpretation of the Mycenaean world and the causes of the Trojan War, and has strengthened his case with reference to the ongoing work on the Hittite tablets. He writes that the controversy over these still rages, but his belief in his identifications of the Greeks and of Troy within them hold firmly. We have a whole chapter devoted to the Hittites and their records. Wood declares that, “If we cannot prove that the Trojan War happened as Homer says, we can at least show that something like it could have happened.”Five stars for the original hardback edition; three stars for the new paperback edition; four stars overall. I would recommend buying both, the paperback for the new evidence, the hardback for the illustrations and maps (the original can be bought very cheaply second-hand).

⭐Although this is a book which will be of interest mainly to people interested in this specific topic and era of history, it is a fascinating read which gives great insight into Mycenaean Greece and the neighbouring empires of the time. It is easy to read and I personally found it engrossing.

⭐This is an excellent history book not so much about the Trojan War as the historiography of the subject. We are taken through the various threads of debate, through the views of the remarkable men who used archaeology to follow their dreams (sometimes a wee bit too far, ye’ll ken). Just when this flags we are taken off to Hattusas to see if the Hittites can fill in other gaps. The sheer power of the poem is remarkable; it fills its enthusiasts with a deep and abiding desire to show its accuracy, something that is almost religious in tone, and which raises their game no end. Wood never allows himself to go overboard, and demonstrates the essentially nasty nature of all this poetic strutting but he remains carefully positioned on the side of the angels.

⭐I bought the BBC video of this a few years ago and really enjoyed it. So when I ordered the book I thought it would enhance the video as the video was made in the eighties. The book covers mostly the same as the video. It seems to me that the author has bulged out the book somewhat by repeating in some chapters the same thing he talks about in earlier chapters. If you can, then get the BBC video as it is much more interesting and informative.

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