How many of the world's five greatest naval battles can you name? Answer: none*. I had never even heard of any of the battles, or even the locations in which they occurred.

History has always been my weakest subject, or at least the one that makes me regret my ignorance the most. I love a good story, but I've been conditioned to get my lessons in small, easily-digestible doses. History always seems to, well, drone.

When I heard about Ryszard Kapuściński's last book, I was inspired to locate and dust off an old paperback that had been resting undisturbed on my bookshelf for years. The 30-page introduction was wearying, so I skipped ahead to the start of the book. Within a few paragraphs, there was kidnapping, implied rape, and the makings of war! Even Dan Brown takes longer than that to get to the action. I don't know if Herodotus will be able to maintain the pace, but if it keeps up I might just make it through.

*Erudite readers are invited to show off their skills by posting any guesses before peeking.