This is a fantastic book: fluently organized, written in a straightforward and friendly tone, and massively supported by research, as the ample and up-to-date bibliography evinces. Particularly interesting and admirable is the establishment of a vocabulary for describing Herodotus's arguments that is won from his texts and those of his contemporaries and therefore never seems imposed or anachronistic. I can think of no volume that is the equivalent of this one.
~Edith Foster, University of Queensland, author of Thucydides, Pericles, and Periclean Imperialism
[An] excellent new book...Herodotus and the Question Why offers a comprehensive, rigorous and engaging introduction not only to Herodotus, but to many other Greek authors too: for this reason alone, it is highly recommended reading not only for scholars...In a time when we risk getting caught in narrow, fatalistic modes of explanation, Christopher Pelling celebrates open-minded, multiform and sometimes uncertain approaches to the question 'why.'
~Times Literary Supplement
[An] epic tome...There are not many scholars alive who could match the depth and breadth of Pelling’s understanding of Herodotus; this work lays it all on the table. Every page shows his careful thought, meticulous attention to detail, and desire to push the envelope in our reassessment of the much-maligned historian. The work is a monument to Pelling’s enduring fascination with Herodotus, and it shows that there is always more to be learned.
~Ancient World Magazine
[Readers] interested in Herodotus's approach to recording history and his mode of historical explanation will find Pelling's book an engaging work of consummate scholarship…Essential.
~CHOICE
[Pelling] works his way through the Herodotean narrative sedulously and with meticulous attention to detail...In a short review it is impossible to illustrate adequately the mass of material in this book, the subtlety of argument and interpretation, and the complex balance of perspectives...[Herodotus and the Question Why] is complex and demanding, but compellingly readable. Pelling deploys an amazingly wide range of material, ancient and modern, with remarkable lucidity.
~Greece & Rome
There is much that is excellent in Pelling’s book. It is comprehensive in scope, treating an impressive number of Herodotean passages. At the same time it is well-structured and argued, with each chapter flowing easily into the next…Pelling has produced a book that has a definite Herodotean feel to it: sweeping, rich, and thought-provoking. Readers will come away with renewed respect for Herodotus’ overall historiographic achievement and especially for the dogged nature of Herodotus’ attempts to get at the reason why things happened.
~Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Erudite and wide-ranging.
~Polis
