Ebook: Classics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

This Very Short Introduction on Classics from Oxford University Press does what it set out to do. It introduces the reader to Roman and Greek antiquity. After reading the book I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see if the book has helped me in understanding Classics better. I would say it has. I found myself looking at certain items and sculptures and asking questions that I haven't before. I wondered about the item's purpose and how succeeding generations have viewed it. I realized I could spend a whole day (or more) pondering all the aspects of an item.

One fault I find with the book is that I find it spends too much time on how later generations have viewed Classics and how it has shaped their would and ours. I understand that this a big part of understanding Classics, but I find myself more interested in the time periods of Roman and Greek antiquity. After a while I found myself glossing over the later chapters which dealt with later generations appreciation of Classics.
All in all, if you ever go to a museum or visited an ancient site and wondered how you could better appreciate what you are seeing, I would recommend this book to you.