Impressive as it is that this has lasted so long and is such a thorough account of far-reaching travels, it's not a thrilling read. Lots of names; places and people, distances and details which don't make it a great narrative.

A very specific part of a relatively arcane history. This is probably one for someone seeking a specific reference on an exact topic, not for general reading necessarily.

A fascinating glimpse of the world as a scholar and traveller knew it, a thousand years ago. His account of the civilisations of the time, and their different histories, legends, cultures, creatures and landscapes give an insight into contemporaneous understanding of diplomacy, geography, oceanography, zoology and climate.

Only at 120 pages, this book reveals the important points in history during the life of al-masudi, encompassing his travels from Iraq, to the whole of Middle East, India, and even to the Far East.
It's amazing how many places he had been and all the things he had seen, to be able to be a part of history.
I've learnt so much history by reading this tiny book, and his adventures were so interesting, I kept reading until 4am.
Now I think if I have the chance I'd like to collect all the books in the Penguin Great Journeys series.

Much better than Herodotus. This selection is from a longer book, which I would be willing to read. It is a description of the ancient world around the time of 975, and like many history books of that period there is a mix of heresay and actual events or places seen by the author. While there is not much narrative to this book it is still an engaging read.