This book is wonderful because it takes Thucydides classic text--itself a wonder--and fills in the gaps, or corrects the ancient text where necessary. Thucydides is cited throughout in a manner reminiscent of the notation used to cite Biblical chapter and verse. In addition, Kagan refers to the writings of Plutarch, Xenophon, Diodorus, Socrates, Aristophanes, and others, especially for the last seven years of the war, a period Thucydides does not cover. Like any scholar worth his salt, Kagan is conversant with the scholarly consensus, with which he is for the most part in step, though he occasionally offers alternative scenarios. Much of the book is simply riveting. Like when the Spartan general Brasidas retakes Amphipolis, or the naval battle fought late in the war for control of the Hellespont. Woven throughout is the longer story of the Athenian turncoat, Alcibiades. Professor Kagan preceded this one-volume history with a four-volume history of the war that took him around 20 years to write. That 4-volume series is a much more detailed consideration of political motives and military strategy. But with this single volume, Kagan was able to produce a fast-moving tale, full of incident and colorful description. I am not a great reader of military histories; most, in my experience, are a boring slog. But because of Kagan's previous in-depth consideration of the same events, and the need to get the story told in a mere 485 pages, the result is a taut, compressed narrative that moves briskly and bears the reader delightedly along. ( )

Although a lengthy study (even though it is a condensing of Kagan's earlier four-volume work), The Peloponnesian War is a fast and concise read, and extremely exciting history accessible even to someone who knows little of Ancient Greek history. Kagan weaves military and social history together in a effortless way and makes the major figures, Pericles, Lysander, Alcibiades, Thrasybulus, et al. live on the page as real people. He provides great commentary on Thucydides's famous history of the war. I would recommend reading this in connection with Thucydides, but if you choose to read only one account of the war, this is the best modern one; it opened my eyes on a conflict that I thought I knew and provided new and thrilling perspectives. ( )

THE Guide to the Peloponnesian War: Kagan has written a concise easy to read history of the Peloponnesian War. While I decided not to read Kagan's 4 volume History I don't in away way feel confused about any part of the war. The book reads like a good fiction novel where you just keep on reading to find out what happens next. Every character is this true to life drama is given in detail but not so much that is slows the book down, or so little to leave the reader wanting more. Anyone who wants a better understanding of this turbulent history of the Ancient Greeks needs to read this book. The major themes of this book and of this civil war still ring true today and will into the future.

Anyone considering reading Tides of War By Steven Pressfield take note, this is REQUIRED reading before you read Pressfield's book.

Very interesting, very massive, very dense.

Along with using Robert Strassler's, The Landmark Thucydides, while reading the original text in translation, Donald Kagan's, The Peloponnesian War, is a masterpiece of elucidation. The text is clear and well-written while expounding on the War mostly covered by Thucydides. Kagan also is supplemented by maps not available in Strassler that I found extremely helpful to understand Thucydides while imagining the personalities involved, such as Alcibiades, the terrain, and battle conditions. This is a masterful one-volume work for general readers of the period which is much more than a simple summary of his four-volume corpus for specialists published by Cornell University Press.