The Buried City
Unearthing the Real Pompeii
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The Buried City
Narrated by:
Nick Biadon
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Narrated by:
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Nick Biadon
About this listen
'An essential read for anyone interested in this extraordinary place' TELEGRAPH
'Brilliant' TOM HOLLAND
A vast area of Pompeii is being excavated for the first time, revealing astonishing insights into how people really lived. In this revelatory new history, Director of Pompeii Gabriel Zuchtriegel shares the untold stories that are at last emerging.
Pompeii is a world frozen in time. There are unmade beds, dishes left drying, tools abandoned by workmen, bodies embracing with love and fear. And alongside the remnants of everyday life, there are captivating works of art: lifelike portraits, exquisite frescos and mosaics, and the extraordinary sculpture of a sleeping boy, curled up under a blanket that's too small.
The Buried City reconstructs the catastrophe that destroyed Pompeii on 24 August 79 CE, but it also offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the city as it was before: who lived here, what mattered to them, and what happened in their final hours. It offers us a vivid sense of Pompeii's continuing relevance, and proves that ancient history is much closer to us than we think.
'A fascinating new book about what we are still learning about this most haunting of all lost cities... deeply moving' MAIL ON SUNDAY
'Makes the familiar magical' DAN SNOW©2025 Ullstein Buchverlage GmbH (P)2025 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
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Self-serving
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The book meanders without any clear sense of purpose. It strings together a handful of stories, none of which are told with any particular flair or narrative skill. By the time one reaches the end, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the entire journey has been random, meandering, and ultimately pointless.
And now, to top it all off, we have Stephen Fry quoted as saying this is the best book on Pompeii he’s ever read. Stephen Fry?! This has to be a joke… or a typo… or perhaps Stephen, for all his classical enthusiasm, has somehow never read a single other book on Pompeii. One hesitates to say it, but it does have the distinct whiff of mates backing mates.
What’s most astonishing is that this was written by the current director of the site. One would expect far more insight, originality, and depth from someone in such a privileged position. Instead, we’re left with a mediocre, uninspired piece of work—something that many others working on or around Pompeii could have vastly improved upon, had they been given the platform.
Sadly, this feels more like a book that exists because of the author’s role, not because of the merit of its content. A deeply disappointing read for anyone hoping for something meaningful, revelatory, or remotely compelling. Stephen, blink twice if you're OK.
Disappointingly Aimless and Self-Indulgent
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