I don't post all the reviews of The Pericles Commission on this blog, because there are a lot of them (surprisingly) and I don't want to bore you all to death with relentless self-promotion. (You may think it hard to believe, but the marketing side of this business I personally find somewhat cringeworthy.) I do forward every review I come across to my literary agent and publishers, to prove what a terrific guy I am and give them more reasons to send me another contract.
But I can't resist showing you these two. The first comes from Williamsburg Regional Library in the US. I've supplied the link in that last sentence and you can pop over to read it if you like. The lines I particularly loved were these:
I have to admit, having studied Greek and Latin at college, I grabbed this book off the shelf the second I saw it. But I also have to admit, my hopes were not high. I was convinced that I would spend the whole time complaining and finding fault. Well, Gary Corby, you have my apologies. The book is well-researched, and the author seamlessly weaves in facts about Athens—the history, culture, and politics—without becoming tedious.
That, to me, is a victory song. There could be no greater compliment for an historical writer.
The second review comes from the Canberra Times. There's no online version so here's a scan, and thanks to one of my wife's sharp-eyed friends who spotted it and kept a copy. What interests me about this one is they asked an historian and archaeologist to do the review. Clearly a very literary archaeologist.
Your factoid of the day: Canberra is the capital of Australia. When the country became independent, Sydney and Melbourne squabbled endlessly over which city should be the capital. So someone got out a map, drew a line between Sydney and Melbourne, and marked off the exact midpoint. And that's where they built Canberra.