Customer Reviews

The History of the Peloponnesian War (Barnes & Noble Classics)

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The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides is a joy to read because it is so well structured and written, even though it is several thousand years old. Don't mistake this for some antique text that is full of the romantic past, if you changed the people and place names it could have been written last week. The analysis of the political problems that led to this war are so clearly and well reported by the writer that even beyond its historical value is the value of its literary quality. Today's journalists and historians would do well to study this work, if not to improve their own work or to use as an example, but for the sheer pleasure of reading something so well formed and thought out.

A very good translation of the greatest of all Greek historians the Athenian general Thucydides (455-400 B.C.E.). Thucydides' classic work, "History Of The Peloponnesian War", provides us with the historical framework for 5th century Greece, a golden age of intellectual achievement and creativity rarely equaled in human history. This history is by far the best account of the bitter war between Athens and Sparta as well as the only surviving contemporary record of the rise of the Athenian empire. Thucydides as a master storyteller does not just cover the battle scenes; he records the great political speeches of Pericles, leader of Athens, and Lysander leader of Sparta with great acumen. He is recognized as the first historian to actually go and get eyewitness accounts, visit battlefields and research documents and records. This work took him over 20 years and it shows!

The lessons he teaches about imperial over reaching and unreasonable peace settlements are prescient today as they were during his times. President Woodrow Wilson, read this book on his voyage across the Atlantic to the Versailles Peace Conference and vociferously fought the other Allies in making unreasonable demands of the Germans. Wilson learned the dangers that the world would be placed in by backing the Germans into a corner politically and economically from Thucydides book.

I heartily recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history. I also recommend you read it with David Cartwright's "A Historical Commentary On Thucydides."

I'm very much in agreement with the other reviewers in term of Thucydides' great writing and the timeless lessons about human nature. I will instead review this Barnes & Noble edition. B&N Classics is known for publishing old translations that are now public property or commissioning relatively unknown translators (sometimes those who have only a Master's in the field they are translating) and then having some well known specialists to either edit or write the introduction to lend some credential to the work. The translating quality might or might not be of a high caliber.

This particular edition of The History of the Peloponnesian is translated by Richard Crawley. Crawley's translation is a master work. The language flows easily and fluidly. It's easy to comprehend and a joy to read. It's a modern translation so no Victorian words to stump you. You can really jump right in and read without any problem. One problem with this translation, as with most translations, is that it does not contain enough maps. Thucydides meticulously details and records each location that major or minor events took place. It's extremely necessary to have maps of these locations in order to understand their strategic significance, not only their military significance, but also what these places mean for the people who are fighting over it. It would be like studying the Nazi invasion of Russia without knowing the where Russia is, what its geographical layout looks like, and what kind of climate it has. Richard Crawley is also the translator for the "Landmark Thucydides" which is two times more expensive than this edition. That particular edition contains extensive notes and maps that will make non-experts have a true experience of Thucydides. Overall, the B&N is an excellent bare bone edition to just read.

And finally, the paper quality is quite good for such an inexpensive edition. It's much better quality than Penguin or some of the other publishers out there. It will last on your shelf a lot longer than some other editions.

Who should read Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War ?

* Anyone who wants to understand how free societies can descend into tyranny:

* Anyone who does not realise that merely holding free elections is not enough to preserve a society worth living in, especially if you don't combine democracy with the rule of law:

* Anyone who needs to understand how two or more nations can stumble into a war devastating to both:

* Anyone who imagines that genocide and ethnic cleansing were limited to our own era:

* Anyone interested in reading one of the first works of true history ever written.

In other words this history of a terrible war nearly two and half thousand years ago is as relevant in the first decade of the third millenium as it was when it was written, four centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ.

If I had to nominate one historical work for my son and daughter to read, I would think carefully between this volume, Suetonius's "The 12 Caesars", and Herodotus's "Histories", but Thucydides "History of the Poloponnesian war" would edge it.

You cannot take every word in this book for granted, but Herodotus and Thucydides came closer to an objective search for truth than any writer whose works survive and was writing before them or for centuries afterwards.

The story of the tragic wars, initially between Athens and Sparta, which decimated Greek civilisation between 431BC and 404 BC is absolutely gripping, and Thucydides brings the story to life for me.

The translation by Richard Crawley was written more than 130 years ago, and in some versions, slightly revised by R.C. Feetham in 1903. Despite being more than a century old, I found the translation to be accessible and easy to understand. I understand from those who know more about history than I do that Crawley's translation is now preferred by current experts to the rival Victorian translation by Benjamin Jowett which provides more of a general sense of Thucydides' writing but is less good at conveying the detail.

The most irritating thing about Thucydides book is that it stops suddently in the middle of a sentence in 411 BC, shortly after the overthrow of democracy in Athens and the Athenian naval victory at the Dardanelles. E.g. well before the actual resolution of the conflict between Athens and Sparta, let alone the subsequent struggle between both cities and Thebes.

If, like me, this leaves you wanting to learn more about what happened next, your best bet is to read Xenophon's "A history of my times" which was deliberately written to follow on from Thucydides, to such an extent that it actually starts with the words "And after this."

The reputation of Xenophon among historians as a reliable source has fallen dramatically over the past few decades, and he is undoubtedly not in the same class as Thucydides as a historian, but he certainly is in the same class as a storyteller and he does complete the story of the war.

The greatest of all Greek historians was the Athenian general Thucydides (455-400 B.C.E.). Thucydides' classic work, "History Of The Peloponnesian War", provides us with the historical framework for 5th century Greece, a golden age of intellectual achievement and creativity rarely equaled in human history. This history is by far the best account of the bitter war between Athens and Sparta as well as the only surviving contemporary record of the rise of the Athenian empire. Thucydides as a master storyteller does not just cover the battle scenes; he records the great political speeches of Pericles, leader of Athens, and Lysander leader of Sparta with great acumen. He is recognized as the first historian to actually go and get eyewitness accounts, visit battlefieilds and research documents and records. This work took him over 20 years and it shows!

The lessons he teaches about imperial over reaching and unreasonable peace settlements are prescient today as they were during his times. President Woodrow Wilson, read this book on his voyage across the Atlantic to the Versailles Peace Conference and vociferously fought the other Allies in making unreasonable demands of the Germans. Wilson learned the dangers that the world would be placed in by backing the Germans into a corner politically and economically from Thucydides book.

As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I heartily recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history. I also recommend you read it with David Cartwright's "A Historical Commentary On Thucydides."

The greatest of all Greek historians was the Athenian general Thucydides (455-400 B.C.E.). Thucydides' classic work, "History Of The Peloponnesian War", provides us with the historical framework for 5th century Greece, a golden age of intellectual achievement and creativity rarely equaled in human history. This history is by far the best account of the bitter war between Athens and Sparta as well as the only surviving contemporary record of the rise of the Athenian empire. Thucydides as a master storyteller does not just cover the battle scenes; he records the great political speeches of Pericles, leader of Athens, and Lysander leader of Sparta with great acumen. He is recognized as the first historian to actually go and get eyewitness accounts, visit battlefieilds and research documents and records. This work took him over 20 years and it shows!

The lessons he teaches about imperial over reaching and unreasonable peace settlements are prescient today as they were during his times. President Woodrow Wilson, read this book on his voyage across the Atlantic to the Versailles Peace Conference and vociferously fought the other Allies in making unreasonable demands of the Germans. Wilson learned the dangers that the world would be placed in by backing the Germans into a corner politically and economically from Thucydides book.

As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I heartily recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history. I also recommend you read it with David Cartwright's "A Historical Commentary On Thucydides."

For me, this book is not an easy read, because there are so many different places and names in the book, for which I cannot remember at all and cannot find the map to locate.

On the other hand, to my surprise, the ancient people could reason their war and peace in such a great logic manner when reading their speech. This leads me to doubt whether we, modern human race, estimate ourselves too high compared with ancient Greeks. Perhaps, we are not as rationale as the ancient people in this book.

Still, it is very interesting to see how the mood changed in Athens through the war.

The greatest of all Greek historians was the Athenian general Thucydides (455-400 B.C.E.). Thucydides' classic work, "History Of The Peloponnesian War", provides us with the historical framework for 5th century Greece, a golden age of intellectual achievement and creativity rarely equaled in human history. This history is by far the best account of the bitter war between Athens and Sparta as well as the only surviving contemporary record of the rise of the Athenian empire. Thucydides as a master storyteller does not just cover the battle scenes; he records the great political speeches of Pericles, leader of Athens, and Lysander leader of Sparta with great acumen. He is recognized as the first historian to actually go and get eyewitness accounts, visit battlefieilds and research documents and records. This work took him over 20 years and it shows!

The lessons he teaches about imperial over reaching and unreasonable peace settlements are prescient today as they were during his times. President Woodrow Wilson, read this book on his voyage across the Atlantic to the Versailles Peace Conference and vociferously fought the other Allies in making unreasonable demands of the Germans. Wilson learned the dangers that the world would be placed in by backing the Germans into a corner politically and economically from Thucydides book.

As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I heartily recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history. I also recommend you read it with David Cartwright's "A Historical Commentary On Thucydides."

Judging by the previous reviews, no one seems confused, but for those not in the know, Herodotus did not write the history of the Peloponnesian War (between Athens and Sparta), THUCYDIDES did.
And while I'm pointing out this egregious mistake I might as well add that if you're halting between which author to read, make it HERODOTUS. He is magnitudes more interesting, and chronicles a war of vastly greater significance than Thucydides, for all his introductory, inflated claims to the contrary.