The Peloponnesian War [Hardcover]

Donald Kagan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 2003

For almost three decades at the end of the fifth century B.C., Athens and Sparta fought a war that changed the Greek world and its civilization forever. A conflict unprecedented in its brutality, the Peloponnesian War brought a collapse in the institutions, beliefs, and customs that were the foundations of society. Today, scholars in fields ranging from international relations and political and military history to political philosophy continue to study the war for its timeless relevance to the history of our own time.

Now Donald Kagan, classical scholar and historian of international relations, ancient and modern, presents a sweeping new narrative of this epic contest that captures all its drama, action, and tragedy. In describing the rise and fall of a great empire he examines the clash between two disparate societies, the interplay of intelligence and chance in human affairs, the role of great human beings in determining the course of events, and the challenge of leadership and the limits in which it must operate. The result is an engrossing, fresh perspective on a key historical event that will be welcomed by general readers and history buffs alike-and anyone seeking a better understanding of the pivotal events that shaped the world as we know it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Beginning in 1978, Kagan's publication of the four-volume History of the Peloponnesian War established him as the leading authority on that seminal period in Greek history. Despite its accessible writing style, however, the work's formidable length tended to restrict its audience to the academic community. This single volume, based on the original's scholarship but incorporating significant new dimensions, is intended for the educated general reader. Kagan, a chaired professor of classics and history at Yale, describes his intention to offer both intellectual pleasure and a source of the wisdom so many have sought by studying this war. On both aims he succeeds admirably. The war between the Athenian Empire and the Spartan Alliance, fought in the last half of the 5th century B.C., was tragedy. Fifty years earlier, the united Greek states had defeated the Persian Empire and inaugurated an era of growth and achievement seldom matched and never surpassed. The Peloponnesian War, however, inaugurated a period of brutality and destruction unprecedented in the Greek world. Like the Great War in 1914-1918, participants recognized even while the fighting went on that things were changing utterly. The contemporary history written by Thucydides is the best source for this complex story, but not the only one, and much of the value of this work lies in Kagan's brilliant contextualization of his ancient predecessor's work. The volume's ultimate worth, however, lies in the perceptive, magisterial judgment Kagan brings to his account of the war that ended the glory that was ancient Greece. Kagan gives us neither heroes and villains nor victors and victims. What infuses his pages is above all a sense of agency: men making and implementing decisions that seemed right at the time however they ended. Such lessons will not be lost on contemporary readers.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Yale historian Kagan is the author of several books on the Peloponnesian War, including a four-volume set that is a leading academic work on the conflict between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century B.C.E. His latest mass-market book is likewise truly impressive, presenting a thorough, yet concise, erudite, yet accessible, narrative encompassing ancient Greece's 30-year Great War. His primary source is, of course, Thucydides' epic history, but Kagan draws on Aristotle, Xenophon, and others to provide an objective, nuanced perspective on the military drama. And it's quite a drama: the clash of democracy and oligarchy, the testing of great leaders, the innovative military tactics, and the unprecedented human cost. The Peloponnesian War has been likened to World War I and the Cold War--both themselves dramatic, paradigm-shifting clashes of civilizations--but Kagan wisely lets his readers make these connections for themselves. It is to the author's great credit that the war's many characters and places are presented accessibly enough to feel relevant to modern events, two and a half millennia later. Don't worry, Thucydides fans, the classic is safe. But Kagan's history is excellent. Brendan Driscoll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 511 pages
• Publisher: Viking (May 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670032115
• ISBN-13: 978-0670032112
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #648,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

130 of 137 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic History, in Both Senses, August 29, 2003

By 

R. Hardy "Rob Hardy" (Columbus, Mississippi USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Peloponnesian War (Hardcover)

The reader bent on getting through the classic history books always starts with Herodotus, who may often be gullible but is always entertaining. The next on the list is _The History of the Peloponnesian War_ by Thucydides, which is completely different. His classic history of the war between Sparta and Athens has been an object of respect and close study ever since it was written, but is tough reading. Translators agree that Thucydides's style is difficult and subject to varying interpretations, and the different battles and overall strategies of the war can get lost. If you plow through Thucydides, you don't even get to find out how it all turns out; his account ends almost seven years before the war did. If this is daunting, help is at hand. A new volume titled _The Peloponnesian War_ (Viking) has been written by Donald Kagan. He has previously written a four volume history of the war for scholars, but has here distilled the narrative into one (admittedly large) volume. His goal was "... a readable narrative... to be read by the general reader for pleasure and to gain the wisdom that so many have sought in studying this war." He has certainly succeeded. The complexities of the conflict all across the Mediterranean make clear that this was a true "world war," but Kagan has made it as clear for non-specialists as we have any right to expect.

Of course one expects detailed descriptions of the basis of the conflict, the nature of battles, and the personalities of the leaders involved, and these expectations are certainly met, throughout all the arenas of the war. Kagan has deliberately not drawn parallels between this, the first well-documented war effort, and all the others that came after it. Nonetheless, the reader will find much that is familiar, with the either comforting or dismaying realization that things do not change much, even over millennia. Here one will read about mutual nonaggression pacts and how they tangle nations into war. The Olympics are shown to be tools of nationalism (or, at this time, city state-ism). Candidates for office put on religiosity and spectacles; one by Alcibiades's opponent Nicias was an opulent parade for the sake of Apollo. Kagan writes that most Athenians "...believed that the gods must favor so pious a man and smile on the city he led." Here also are worries about the military-industrial complex; a contemporary writer said on one occasion that Athenians had rejected a truce because of deceptions by "practiced warmongers who made private profit from public troubles."

The maps in this volume deserve special mention. They are numerous and clear, and generally are within the text near where the geography needs description. Kagan finishes with an essay about sources. Thucydides is, of course, cited many times, but Kagan does not entirely accept his much-praised impartiality. Among the other sources are Xenophon, an Athenian general who was a disciple of Socrates. The comedies of Aristophanes are frequently cited, for the light they show on certain warriors and politicians, as well as the time's free-ranging nature of satire and public ridicule. It is a pleasant surprise to find that Kagan has found special value in Plutarch; although he lived five centuries after the war and was a biographer rather than a historian, Kagan thinks that Plutarch's own citations of previous historians show admirable scholarship. Kagan's own history of the war falls squarely in that tradition.

115 of 128 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kagan understands the true value of history, May 19, 2003

By 

A.C. (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Peloponnesian War (Hardcover)

Donald Kagan is the foremost authority on the Peloponnesian War, having authored an comprehensive four-volume history on the subject. But perhaps more importantly, Professor Kagan is also a wonderful storyteller. Do not be intimidated by the length of the book, or it's topic. The subject matter is extremely rich and interesting - just because something happened 2,500 years ago doesn't mean it's boring. On the contrary, one of Prof. Kagan's strengths, both as a teacher and a writer, is his ability to make relevant the events of the past, not through strained parallels and comparisons, but through a deep understanding of human nature.

The Peloponnesian War reminds many of the major conflicts of the 20th century, and some of those comparisons are quite illuminating. For example, the showdown between the two "superpowers" of the era, Athens and Sparta, reminds many of the Cold War, and there are indeed many intriguing similarities. Professor Kagan, who has written about such comparisons at length (see "On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace"), understands these parallels as clearly as anyone. But focusing on these parallels to make distant events appear "relevant" is, to him, unnecessary. His view, which I share, is that the Peloponnesian War does not need to be "made relevant:" it IS relevant, because of the unchanging character of human nature and human problems. If you expect this book to be filled with statements like "President Bush is just like Pericles because..." you will be disappointed. What you will get, however, is much more valuable.

Observing how people have dealt with the crises of the past makes us more intelligent observers of the present, not because all situations are exactly the same in their details, but because human hopes, fears, and needs are fairly constant across history. It is this insight that Prof. Kagan brings to bear so effectively in his work. One of Prof. Kagan's favorite quotes from Thucydides states that nations (or city-states, as the case may be) are motivated by three things: "fear, honor, interest." It is Prof. Kagan's view that this assertion is as true today as it was in 431 B.C. Nations have always sought to protect themselves from those they fear, maintain their national pride, and further their interests. In the process, of course, they must contend with internal and external forces - internal dissent, military rivalries, reluctant allies - forcing the leadership to make crucial choices about which path to pursue as they seek the optimal outcome for their nation. To any observer of recent events, this process would seem very familiar. And that is as it should be, for it is from this process that history unfolds.

Understanding how nations and their leaders pursue their goals, make their decisions, and perceive the world around them is what makes reading history interesting. By choosing the Peloponnesian War as your case-study, and Donald Kagan as your guide, you will have one of the most interesting reading experiences you are ever likely to have.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hellenic version of World War...., December 28, 2005

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Peloponnesian War (Hardcover)

I have read Donald Kagan's previous four volume book set on the Peloponnesian War which set the standard of that war for many years to come. So when I read his one volume book on the subject, I did wondered what more can I get.

This one book treatment of the Peloponnesian War proves to be superbly well written for almost any reader. Unlike his four volume series which was academically rich and complex, this one book treatment scaled down the narrative into an easy to read, easy to understand and yet complete enough to make any reader understand what, how and why of the Peloponnesian War. Added by nice maps, almost anyone can tackle this book and come out wiser on the subject. The author's ability to reduced the complex nature of this conflict into an easier format is a clear example of his knowledge and total command of the subject matter.

This book come highly recommended for anyone who have an initial interest on the matter and even for experienced readers as well.