Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0415262801, Paperback)

Athens and Sparta is a thorough and enjoyable text that makes the complexities of fifth-century Greek history and society clear. It encourages the reader to engage critically with the evidence, presenting a large selection of ancient source material along with clear analysis and narrative.
This fully revised and updated edition contains much that is new, including an appendix on Thucydides and further material on the portrayal of Athenian women.

Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0415003385, Paperback)

Athens and Sparta deals not only with the established area of Greek political history, but also with some of the most important aspects of Greek social history, a subject which is winning increasing recognition. The author sets out the Greek source material in detail, with a full set of references. Meeting a long-felt need, he explicitly demonstrates many of the techniques of criticism and reconstruction which historians apply to this ancient evidence. Critical in spirit throughout, yet still communicating a deep respect for Greek intelligence, Powell provides a close study of the leading Greek thinkers, and an outline of the principles of psychology, both ancient and modern. His analysis successfully illustrates the practical wisdom and cunning of the chief Greek communities, Athens and Sparta.