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| Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter (Hinges of History) | 
 enlarge | Author: Thomas Cahill
Creator: Olympia Dukakis
Publisher: Random House Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy Used: $4.21
You Save: $21.74 (84%)
New (7) Used (11) Collectible (1) from $4.21
Avg. Customer Rating:  69 reviews
Sales Rank: 1341036
Format: Abridged, Audiobook
Media: Audio Cassette
Edition: Abridged
Number Of Items: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 4.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0739307509
Dewey Decimal Number: 909
EAN: 9780739307502
ASIN: 0739307509
Publication Date: October 28, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Excellent customer service. Order inquiries handled promptly.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Sailing the Wine Dark Sea:Why the Greeks Matter May 17, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Edith Hamilton is great--read her in high school eons ago. Cahill covers the territory from Homer on down for the lay person beautifully.
 Explaining Why the Greeks Matter (with help from Liza Minelli) May 2, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
There are a lot of books introducing Greek politics, philosophy, and society. Cahill's offering in 'Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea' doesn't add much that is new to the mix. Yet it is very readable, despite being chock full of Cahill's offhanded contemporary analogies that, while perhaps making the past more accessible to the present, often go beyond the pale ("The Greeks...could sometimes be as soppy as a Liza Minelli concert"). Despite these occasional absurdities, only someone with a solid handle on his subject can consistently get away with that kind of writing and still teach us something.
Cahill passes the test, and 'Wine Dark Sea' is a good way to discover (or rediscover) the basics of classical Greek culture. Although his chapters ("How to Fight," "How to Party," "How to Think," etc.) make for choppy categorization of Hellenic life, he makes up for it with fresh interpretation. His own readings of Plato's dialogues render them accessible in ways they rarely are outside of a college level classics course. Oh yeah, and he doesn't shy away from extensive discussions of the Greeks and sex. (Just don't let the kids see the pictures.)
The book is an addition to Cahill's 'Hinges of History' series (which includes 'How the Irish Saved Civilization' and 'The Gifts of the Jews'). 'Wine Dark Sea' is not the best in the series, and not the best introduction to Greek culture available (if forced to choose I much prefer Edith Hamilton's 'The Greek Way'). But it is certainly an entertaining way to get your Greek fix.
A true Greek Tragedy April 24, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The best volume in Cahill's "Hinges of History" series by sheer weight of content and it's historical importance. It is nothing short of a Greek Tragedy, however, that such a "cream-skimming" review be hailed as important or original when these things should be known by every western "grandchild" of Greece (and educated people everywhere). History's most substantial subjects deserve more . . . substance. So with this relativist reasoning, I definitely recommend this book (but NOT the audio book of which Olympia Dukakis's "bull in a china shop" reading is the least euphonic experience I've had in years).
Smooth Sailing with Cahill March 14, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
If the author's aim was to have the reader journey back and actually BE in the midst of the Greek world, he's done his job. He introduces each chapter with a Greek myth, as he explains the extraordinary minds that have left indelible marks on the modern world. I am eager to read the other books that are in progress.
Mary Anne Brannon
Sailing the wine Dark Sea February 15, 2007
This book is supurb, so much so that I bought a copy for my psychologist-daughter and one for my writer-daughter. The book unravels and reveals an enormously interesting insight into the derivation, evolution and meaning of the arts of western civilization. It's an incredibly compelling read, while entertaining and connecting a plethora of the cultural "dots" we take for granted in our time.
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