Reviews

In this liberally illustrated volume written to accompany a forthcoming PBS series, BBC producer and series narrator Wood, author of In Search of the Dark Ages, etc., explores the origins of Homer's epics and efforts of archeologists to document the historic truth of the Bronze Age Trojan War as celebrated in the Iliad. Oral tradition and accounts by poets, he notes, have yet to be disproved by archeology. He cites the fascination which the Trojan story has exercised throughout history and on travelers of all periodsByron among them. Despite archeologist Heinrich Schliemann's exaggerations, the author credits him with the development of modern archeology into a science. Schliemann's finds and those of other archeologists of Mycenaean, Minoan and Hittite civilizations are discussed in some detail. Troy, Wood speculates, may have been one of many cties sacked by the Greeks for economic reasons, and Helen one of the many women captured. 50,000 first printing; History Book Club main selection; BOMC and Macmillan's Natural Science alternates.(May 1p)

Written to complement a BBC-TV series scheduled to begin on PBS this month, Wood's book is essentially an investigation of the historical reality, if any, behind the legend of Troy and the Trojan War. Though not a professional archaeologist, Wood shows a fine grasp of the various problems presented by the Homeric epics, and writes well about sometimes complicated archaeological, linguistic, and historical matters. At times his presentation is a bit repetitious, but those interested in the attempts of individuals such as Schliemann, Dorpfeld, Blegen, and Evans to explore sites thought to be those connected by Homer with the Trojan War will find a lively and sometimes speculative account based on current scholarship. A useful introduction for nonspecialists to areas of continuing scholarly debate. Jackson P. Hershbell, Classical Studies Dept., Univ. of Minnestoa, Minneapolis