Thomas R. Martin

When (if) covid ends and normalcy returns, my husband and I decided that we want to visit Greece. We are preparing by reading and taking Great Courses about the ancients and searching for books about contemporary Greece. (Any recommendations?)

The Great Courses series on Ancient Greece suggested Martin's book as a course companion. I had read it before and enjoyed it more this time around. It is a well written, high readable survey of Greek history from Prehistoric to Hellenistic times. One show more of Martin's strengths is Social history. I found his analysis of sex, gender, and the role of women in Athenian society fascinating. His examination of Greek religion and the Spartan social structure and its frightening impact on everyday life is insightful. Overall, Martin's text is a fine introductory survey. show less

Audiobook.

A solid review of the broad scope of ancient Greek history. A good books for a beginner in the subject, or for a refresher. It did an especially good job of moving beyond political/military history to discuss art, culture, and philosophy, which I find undergraduate textbook-like books tend to shove into the margins.

A great general guide to rome, especially for someone who's newly exposed to the classics. Hits a lot of major points, and makes some interesting observations here and there. Some of the interpretation seems a bit speculative and feels like the author is being a bit revisionist by putting modern ideas into the past. I think that can't be avoided in history, nor should it entirely be but someone with more than a casual knowledge of roman history would definately get some of their feathers show more ruffled. show less

This book includes brief lives of the Greek writer Herodotus (famous as the historian of the Greco-Persian War) and the Chinese scholar Sima Qian , author of the first great history of China from legendary times to the early Han dynasty (translated by Burton Watson as Records of the Grand Historian) . Since I was young, I have enjoyed reading Herodotus for his fund of lively anecdotes,and I have admired Sima for his decision to submit to castration in order to survive and complete his show more history (the custom of his day was that officials sentenced to castration normally committed suicide to escape the shame). There is nothing so dramatic in Herodotus's life, but his history as a whole may be more readable, as he incorporated stories he heard during his travels. This book is unusual in that includes one the the chronological tables Sima included in his history. The extracts from Herodotus include the story of Croesus, the customs of the Egyptians and other foreign peoples, the stand of the 300 at Thermopylae and the story of Artimisia. The extracts from Sima include hs famous letter explaining his decision to live, the basic annals of the Qin Dynasty, the legendary origins f the Han founder, the power of Empress Lu, the story of an assassin who narrowly failed to kill the First Emperor of Qin, and the customs of the Xiongnu (Huns). show less