In this new edition of Herodotus' Histories, Nigel Wilson has revised the original Oxford Classical Text by the Danish scholar C. Hude, published in 1906 and last revised in 1927. As well as incorporating much of the valuable work on the text that has been conducted since the original edition, in particular that of J. Enoch Powell and Paul Maas, Wilson has taken into account new readings from over 80 papyri. In addition, clarity in the apparatus criticus has been improved by the collation of two previously neglected medieval manuscripts, which belong to the so-called Roman family.

A number of passages remain puzzling, and Wilson proposes new solutions and provides plausible emendations wherever possible. The editor has also written a commentary volume, Herodotea, to accompany this edition, in which he explains many of the editorial decisions he made while revising this key classical text.