A Classical Archaeologists's Life: The Story so Far shows that a
scholar's life is not all scholarship, though much of this book is
devoted to the writing of books and, especially, travel to
classical and other lands. Boardman is a Londoner, born in Ilford
and attending school in Essex (Chigwell). His teenage years were
spent often in air raid shelters rather than with 'mates' (all
evacuated). There are distinctive 'aunties', the rituals of daily
life in a London suburb. The non-scholarly figures live large in
this account of his life, marriage, children, new houses. At
Cambridge he learned about classical archaeology as a necessary
addition to reading Homer and Demosthenes, even being obliged to
recite the latter. And those were the days of Bertrand Russell's
lectures in a university reawakening after the war. Thence to the
British School at Athens to learn about excavation (Smyrna,
Knossos, later Libya). His return from Greece was to Oxford, not
Cambridge, at first in the Ashmolean Museum, then as Reader and
Professor. A spell in New York gives an account of the city before
the troubles, when Petula Clark's Down Town was dominant. There is
much here to reflect on university life and teaching, and on the
reasons for and problems with the writing of his many books (some
40), with reflection on the university, colleges and their ways.
Travels are well documented - a notable trip through Pakistan and
China, in Persia, Egypt, Turkey - with comment on what he saw and
experienced beyond archaeology. A lecture tour in Australia
provides comment beyond the academic. He visited Israel often,
lecturing and publishing for the Bible Lands Museum. Several tours
in the USA took him to most of their museums and universities as
well as many other sights, from glaciers to alligators. This book
is a mixture of scholarly reminiscence, reflection on family life,
travelogue, and critique of classical scholarship (not all
archaeological) worldwide, illustrated with pictures of travels,
friends, home life, and, for a historian, a reflection on
experiences of over 90 years.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
