Product Description

The Stalingrad of the ancient world, this is an immensely readable, brilliant, brutal and vivid history of the greatest and bloodiest war of ancient Greece. The Peloponnesian War, fought 2,500 years ago between oligarchic Sparta and democratic Athens for control of Greece, is brought spectacularly to life in this magnificent study. Kagan demonstrates the relevance of this cataclysmic event to modern times in all its horror and savagery. As two uncompromising empires fight a war of survival from diametrically opposing political, social and cultural positions, the seemingly invincible glory of Athens crumbles in tragedy. Athenian culture and politics was unmatched in originality and fertility, and is still regarded as one of the peak achievements of Western civilisation. Dramatic poets such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes raised tragedy and comedy to a level never surpassed; architects and sculptors were at work on the Acropolis; natural philosophers like Anaxagoras and Democritus were exploring the physical world, and philosophers like Socrates were dissecting the realm of human affairs. All this was lost to this bloody conflict. In this work of brilliant scholarship, Kagan illustrates his remarkable ability to interpret these events as a part of the universality of human experience. His clear expertise in both the ancient world and the wars of the 20th-century are combined with his storytelling gifts to give an unforgettable portrait of this pivotal war that has shaped the world as we know it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31148 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Review
'It is a lively narrative that moves with immense speed towards its grim conclusion!Recent events have enhanced Kagan's reputation among American conservatives as a sage.' Daily Telegraph 'It is a daunting task to cover the same ground as a great classical historian, but Donald Kagan achieves it splendidly with "The Peloponnesian War".' Sunday Times, Books of the Year 'Kagan's narrative of one of the critical episodes in the history of the ancient world is as good an account of the subject as one could ask for.' Spectator

About the Author
Donald Kagan is Sterling Professor of History and Classics at Yale University. and is an internationally recognised authority on ancient Greek history and culture, as well as a scholar of diplomatic history. He is the author of a four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War that is considered the landmark academic work in the field as well as the highly acclaimed Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy and On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace. His writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, The Public Interest and the New York Times Book Review.

Customer Reviews

best book on classical times
This is quite simply the best all-round book for learning about the peloponnesian wars. Kagan manages to combine factual information with a very easy-to-read style.

Maps are numerous and even include maps of the various battlegrounds including ship formations.

Kagan not only narrates the events very well, but also provides his own insights into why some decisions were made, and some of these decisions would appear very bizarre without them.

In all, I can't recommend this book enough. I have a huge interest in ancient times and this is easily the best book i've read.

More than history
Keagan tells history like no one else. Attention to detail, vivid narration, great insight. It is amazing to realise how the story of a great conflict that took place almost 2500 years ago, can be paralleled with what is happening in the world today. This is a real page-turner. A must read for historians, students, politicians and the casual reader.

Thoroughly Engaging
I am not going to attempt to compete with other reviewers of this book for in-depth analysis, as I could be considered 'relatively new' to book reading.

However, this book provided me with not only an insight into this highly significant ancient conflict, but also into the lives of the individual people at the time of the war.

When I say 'individuals', I am referring to citizens, slaves and the high ranking/status people who were involved in the progression and vital decision taking in the war.

Influential names include Pericles, Cleon, Nicias (peace of Nicias), Cleomenes and Alkibiades from Athens; King Agis, Brasidas, Gyllipus and Lysander of Sparta to the influence of Darius II and his son in funding Sparta's decisive victory at Aegospotamos in 405BC.

Donald Kagan succeeds in avoiding the melodrama and excessive vivid descriptions for the savagery of the battles, and stays with infportant facts and dates which are key to the study of the war.

To conclude, I will say that this is indeed quite deep reading, but it was a very complicated conflict in it's causes and outcomes. However, this was not a culmination from a few decades of rivalry and the author makes clear this fact.

My advice: Lose yourself in this, and the size of the book will not be so daunting.