Rating: 
Summary: A solid translation
Review: What Penguin has done with this translation is take one of Josephus's two primary texts and make it into a readable source. They have done a commendable job. The work, Bellum Judaicum, is, according to the introduction, more reliable than Josephus's other account, the Antiquitates Judaicae. I lack the scholarship to verify this claim.The translation is, on the whole, excellent. It has attempted to use modern idioms in order to make the work more readable, and this occassionally is jarring (did Josephus REALLY use the word "helter-skelter" in his text?). Given that Josephus was clearly trying to appeal to the masses with his history, however, this choice can easily be forgiven. The introduction and footnotes are very helpful. The footnotes are especially good at pointing out the places where Josephus allowed his literary zeal to run amok. On the whole, this is a readable and enjoyable translation.
Rating:
Summary: A solid translation
Review: What Penguin has done with this translation is take one of Josephus's two primary texts and make it into a readable source. They have done a commendable job. The work, Bellum Judaicum, is, according to the introduction, more reliable than Josephus's other account, the Antiquitates Judaicae. I lack the scholarship to verify this claim. The translation is, on the whole, excellent. It has attempted to use modern idioms in order to make the work more readable, and this occassionally is jarring (did Josephus REALLY use the word "helter-skelter" in his text?). Given that Josephus was clearly trying to appeal to the masses with his history, however, this choice can easily be forgiven. The introduction and footnotes are very helpful. The footnotes are especially good at pointing out the places where Josephus allowed his literary zeal to run amok. On the whole, this is a readable and enjoyable translation.
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