cryphal story about how the three leading Persians argued over the future course of Persian government after Cyrus’ death. Darius proposes monarchy, Otanes proposes democracy and Megabyzus proposes oligarchy — their argument, despite being impossible chronologically (at the time of Cyrus’ death, democracy wasn’t even a twinkle in Cleisthenes’ eye), is a fascinating reflection of the kind of political tittle-tattle that Athenians would have been bandying about in the agora in Herodotus’ day. Similarly, Kapuscinski’s The Emperor (1978) describes Haile Selassie’s regime in terms implicitly linked to eastern European communism. Both stories offer insights into the political backgrounds of the intended readership, but neither inspire great confidence in terms of factual accuracy.

Travels with Herodotus is a strange book, structurally fragmented and with a drifting, elusive narrative. It is both a memoir and a fable, as well as a simple retelling of Herodotus. Perhaps this strangeness is apt — a book that barely touches base in any known genre is a fitting finale for a man who defied the generic conventions of journalism and literature.

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