Sunday, August 2, 2009

Review: The Philosopher and the Druid

I truly surprise myself sometimes! I actually did not expect to get another review posted so soon before the wedding, but today's review title was so good I couldn't help but devouring it. Freeman once again combines superb style, history, and storytelling in a wonderfully informative but warm look at the ancient Celts.

Genre:
nonfiction

Plot Synopsis: Forget what you think you know about the Celts. Freeman is out to prove that most of our connotations concerning this much-loved culture is mostly myth and lore. By rediscovering the Greek explorer Posidonius and his lost History, Freeman weaves primary source material with other historical, linguistic, and archaeological discoveries to create a much better picture of the Celtic/Gallic culture. The result is a dazzling, fascinating work that is both historically sound (in my amateur opinion) and an engaging read. Oh that more history books were like this!

Structure: Freeman, author of the delightful St. Patrick of Ireland, has already proved himself to be a capable historian with a flair for storytelling. The Philosopher and the Druid is no different. Freeman first sets the scene by describing the ancient world Posidonius grew up in, including his philosophical point of view and the steps he would have undertaken to understand the Celts/Gauls (Freeman proves they are actually quite closely related) before venturing among them. He divides his work into several chapters. Then, the next five chapters retell the history of the Celtic cultures throughout Europe, organized by their history in several geographic regions (a chapter on Galatia, a chapter on Massalia, etc.) and the cities Posidonius would have visited on his journey to Gaul.

Finally, Freeman tackles what Posidonius and other ancient authors, such as Strabo, Pliny, and Julius Caesar, tell us about every aspect of Celtic life, including women, tribal authority, feasting, bards, druids, and religion.

Execution: As I have mentioned several times, Freeman is anything but dry and boring. He has a natural knack for pacing and storytelling, and I found his prose compelling but professional. It had just enough polish to keep me interested, but not enough that it did disrespect to his work as a historian.

Freeman also possess a great ability to tell us exactly what we can safely know. He never glosses over a problem or a gap in the historical record, but nevertheless tries to fill in the knowledge as best he can. This sort of open, honest but optimistic approach to history makes him very unique among the authors I have read. His unique subject matter and the way he straddles the popular/academic boundary makes him an author I will keep turning to.

Theme: Greco-Roman history, Greek philosophy, Celtic history and culture, archaeology, linguistics, ancient religion/myth

Read this if you are interested, even slightly, in the Greco-Roman world or Celtic history, because believe me, he will make you thirst for more.

5 out of 5 stars

Other works:
Freeman, a professor of classics at Luther College, has also written:
Julius Caesar: A Biography
St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography

If you liked this, you might also like:
Robert Graves' I, Claudius, based on actual Roman authors like Suetonius, Tacitus and Plutarch, also combines good storytelling with good history

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