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Loading... The Peloponnesian War (edition 1989)by Thucydides, Thomas Hobbes (Translator), David Grene (Commentary)
Work InformationThe History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides
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The version I read was an abridged edition - 96 pages - old Danish translation that were used for high school. Interesting to read about men doing sports naked, about very detailed description of some sort of plague or epidemic - really horrible - that they couldn't find a cure for. But mostly it was long speeches of peace-negotiations or war declarations with moral arguments on why a city should be spared or everyone killed in it. As this book has been review a zillion times I'm not going to repeat the effort (plus I'm super busy at the moment), but I'll explain why I gave it a three at least. It's a classic of course, and the translation seems pretty good to my relatively untrained eyes/ears, but the narration was definitely sub-par. I've no idea if there are more recent audiobooks, but I'd definitely recommend looking for one before going for this one by Pat Bottino--or just read a non-audio version of course. The Peloponnesian War This book is fantastic, among my few “five stars.” That honor goes also to Democracy in America and the Old Testament; classics that have more than stood the test of time. When I was in college in 1978 my professor, Alvin Bernstein, said that Thucydides would always be a “friend.” Too bad I didn’t read the entire book back then, or even all of the assigned portions of the book. Professor Bernstein was so right. My older son commented that it would take me as long to read it as the wars lasted. Almost exactly true, from 1978 till now. In reality in the last few years I have been interspersing reading it with other books. I still have a few pages of Appendix 4 to go but basically I’m done. The book is not typical of anti-war tracts, railing against the establishment. It makes its significant anti-war points far more subtlety. There are eloquent passages about the indescribable suffering of the soldiers. The book is laced with wisdom for the ages, including a good section on how no good deed goes unpunished. Or the differences in dynamic societies (often water-oriented) such as Athens and Syracuse, on Sicily, contrasted with Sparta, bigger on “hoplites” or heavily armed land troops. The book indirectly hints at how Greece’s golden-age strength was much diminished by the fratricidal Peloponnesian wars and the struggles with Syracuse. The book is quite a slog, but I recommend it highly to any history buff. It is great “primary source” literature, albeit edited and translated. Belongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inGreat Books Of The Western World - 54 Volume Set, Incl. 10 Vols of Great Ideas Program & 10 Volumes Gateway To Great Books by Robert Maynard Hutchins (indirect) GREAT BOOKS OF THE WESTERN WORLD--54 Volumes 27 volumes 1961-1987 GREAT IDEAS TODAY (Yearbooks) 10 volumes GATEWAY TO THE GREAT BOOKS 10 volumes GREAT IDEAS PROGRAM. Total 101 Volumes. by Robert Maynard Hutchins (indirect) ContainsHas the (non-series) sequelIs abridged inHas as a reference guide/companionHas as a studyHas as a student's study guideAwardsNotable Lists
References to this work on external resources. Wikipedia in English (16)History.
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HTML: Written by Thucydides around 400 AD, The History of the Peloponnesian War is a meticulous account by the Athenian general of the extended struggle that raged between Athens and Sparta for the better part of twenty years. Thucydides eschews the romance of heroics and dramatics and his precise and thorough account of the ill-fated conflict is one of the first surviving scholarly works of history. .No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)938.05History and Geography Ancient World Greece to 323 Greece to 323 Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC)LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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This was not an easy read. A lot of towns, names and all in all it was often a blur. I did enjoy some points made in debates and the discussions on oligarchy, democracy, and constitution. I think this might be a reference book but not something I would want to read cover to cover again. ( )