The Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer Who Dug for Troy (review)

It really doesn't matter whether readers are up on their Iliad or not; anyone with an interest in archaeology or in liars and braggarts will be drawn in by this slim biography of the hyperimaginative Schliemann, who, thinking beyond the conventional wisdom of his day, dug up the Turkish ruins at Hissarlik on little more than a hunch that they held the Homeric city of Troy. His arrogance as an amateur historian was matched by his hubris as chronicler of his own archaeological heroics and his sloppiness as an excavator, and if he did manage to unearth the site of Troy (and for that matter, of related sites at Mycenae and Tiryns as well), it was more a matter of luck than skill, since he misinterpreted many of his own findings. Schlitz gleefully exposes the warts on Schliemann's outrageous character, but she does so with a sense of humor and the fair admission that he opened the world's eyes to a new understanding of the historical basis for what had long been considered just a much-loved myth. Byrd's detailed black-and-white line-and-watercolor illustrations and spot art mirror Schlitz's light-hearted tone, and the timelines and diagrams incorporated throughout the text impart shovels full of information in an engaging, economical manner. The text is lively enough to support a classroom readaloud, and any ancient history teacher with a little down time to fill will strike gold right here. Source notes and a bibliography (but, sadly, no index) are included.