Books by Philip Matyszak

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Maty Matyszak

Ave!

My name is Philip Matyszak, though most people call me 'Maty'. I've been interested in the ancient world since my parents purchased me a set of little plastic hoplites at some point in the late 1960s. Since then my interest has shifted from the Greek to the Roman world, though recently it has been shifting back again. Over the past forty years or so I've been reading, wargaming, researching, teaching and writing about antiquity to the extent that I sometimes feel a bit uncomfortable in the 21st Century.

Someone defined happiness as deciding what you like to do, and then working out how to get paid for it. That sums up my present career perfectly. My belief is that if there is something fascinating to investigate about the ancient world, then its my job, my pleasure and privilege to write about what I've found. From Homer to Constantine we have almost a thousand and a half years of ancient history. There are hundreds of places and stories to bring before a generation which is, I'm delighted to see, waking up to the intriguing alternative reality that is the world of antiquity.

I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed writing each of the books you see on my homepage, and if you are reading this between 9am and 5pm on a weekday, rest assured that, at this very moment, my intention is to be busy either writing or researching my next book. (I'm probably also doing it on Sunday.)

At present I'm looking out of my window at the Monsahee Mountains of Western Canada. At other times the view has been of an Alpine valley near Innsbruck, the savanna of Africa (where I was a soldier), the cityscapes of Leeds and London (where I worked as a journalist) or the spires of Oxford where I studied for my doctorate at St John's College. I've also taught in Milan, Italy and worked in Cambridge, England. In fact I still work for Cambridge University, teaching and preparing courses for the eLearning programme at the Institute of Continuing Education at Madingley Hall.

Thanks for visiting my website, and if you have anything to comment about the site, my books, or anything to do with antiquity, I'll be glad to hear from you.

Maty

 

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