{"product_id":"talking-classics-the-shock-of-the-old-hardcover","title":"Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMary Beard\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe incomparable Mary Beard is back, and she's talking all things classics.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Why the ongoing fascination with the ancient world? This witty, approachable book asks why--for better or (sometimes) worse--antiquity continues to exert such a powerful hold on the contemporary imagination. Recalling a formative childhood encounter with a four-thousand-year-old piece of bread in a museum, Beard introduces the idea of \u003ci\u003ethauma\u003c\/i\u003e, or wonder, that kick-started a lifetime engaging with classics. It was not the canonical \"greats\" of ancient literature and art that initially drew her in, she confesses, but rather the more intimate, messy, and humdrum evidence of daily life in the remote past. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Confronting the uses and abuses of symbols of the ancient world, Beard reminds us that the traditions and \"masterpieces\" of Greece and Rome have certainly been politicized, but they belong to neither the left nor the right. Happily, no one owns the past. She warns us not to let a sense of reverence or overfamiliarity dampen the \"shock of the old,\" arguing that one of the most important things that classics teach us is how to grapple with complicated and controversial things. \"The Greeks and Romans are long dead, they cannot answer back, and you can say what you like about them,\" she reminds readers. \"The simple fact that classics belong to none of us can offer a safe space to argue about the most difficult debates we face now.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Beard welcomes everyone into classics. \"It is not compulsory to be excited by the ancient world,\" she writes. \"But it can be a shame not to be.\" This charming, sharp, and readable book from one of the world's most entertaining classicists offers something for both new and established fans of classics, bringing new wonder and curiosity to even the most ancient of ideas. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMary Beard \u003c\/b\u003eis a distinguished classicist, international bestselling author, and popular television personality. She is professor emerita of classics at the University of Cambridge, a fellow of Newnham College, and professor of Ancient Literature at the Royal Academy, as well as being the classics editor of the \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e, a fellow of the British Academy, and an international member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her books include \u003ci\u003eSPQR: A History of Ancient Rome\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWomen and Power: A Manifesto\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTwelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eEmperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 208\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.8 x 8.6 x 5.6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 21, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52091192508717,"sku":"9780226834245","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/talking-classics-the-shock-of-the-old-hardcover-9670985.webp?v=1780162458","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/talking-classics-the-shock-of-the-old-hardcover","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}