Thucydides called his account of two decades of war between Athens and Sparta "a possession for all time," and indeed it is the first and still the most famous work in the Western historical tradition. Considered essential reading for generals, statesmen, and liberally educated citizens for more than 2,000 years, The Peloponnesian War is a mine of military, moral, political, and philosophical wisdom. However, this classic book has long presented obstacles to the uninitiated reader. Written centuries before the rise of ...
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Thucydides called his account of two decades of war between Athens and Sparta "a possession for all time," and indeed it is the first and still the most famous work in the Western historical tradition. Considered essential reading for generals, statesmen, and liberally educated citizens for more than 2,000 years, The Peloponnesian War is a mine of military, moral, political, and philosophical wisdom. However, this classic book has long presented obstacles to the uninitiated reader. Written centuries before the rise of modern historiography, Thucydides' narrative is not continuous or linear. His authoritative chronicle of what he considered the greatest war of all time is rigorous and meticulous, yet omits the many aids to comprehension modern readers take for granted-such as brief biographies of the story's main characters, maps and other visual enhancements, and background on the military, cultural, and political traditions of ancient Greece. Robert Strassler's new edition amends these omissions, and not only provides a new coherence to the narrative overall but effectively reconstructs the lost cultural context that Thucydides shared with his original audience. Based on the venerable Richard Crawley translation, updated and revised for modern readers, The Landmark Thucydides includes a vast array of superbly designed and presented maps, brief informative appendices by outstanding classical scholars on subjects of special relevance to the text, explanatory marginal notes on each page, an index of unprecedented subtlety and depth, and numerous other useful features. Readers will find that with this edition they can dip into the text at any point and be immediately oriented with regard to the geography, season, date, and stage of the conflict. In any list of the Great Books of Western Civilization, The Peloponnesian War stands near the top. This handsome, elegant, and authoritative new edition will ensure that its greatness is appreciated by future generations.
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As a professional historian and college professor, who teaches both classroom courses and online, including graduate level courses in Classical history, I think Robert Strassler's Landmark Thucydides is an invaluable source for the courses I teach. The marginal notes, maps, charts, illustrations, timelines, and appendices are all very helpful tools that aid in understanding the text, and the book contains a wonderful introduction by Victor Davis Hanson. What more can any scholar or student ask for in a comprehensive one-volume text of Thucydides's Peloponnesian War? I highly recommend it for both students of Greek history and anyone who teaches it.
newriver299@gmail.com
Jan 29, 2009
Khyber Pass to Thucydides
Something like a Lonely Planet Guide for serious students and scholars. Accessible and incisive, the best proof of the effectiveness of this book is that I gave it as a gift to a college student who had heard a mention of Thucydides in World History class. The young student plunged in and emerged with a spirited exploration of the Melian Dialogue, thus proving that Western Civilization has not died. So this is Thucydides with maps and extensive footnotes. The maps in the book are extremely helpful but I also added wall maps with coloured tacks for troops, augmented with GoogleEarth field trips.
