The Peloponnesian War

Rating:
Summary: masterful
Review: Kagan, once again, has written an excellent book. For readers seeking an introduction to the Peloponnesian War, I can imagine no better place to start--except, perhaps, Thucydides, but even then it might be wise to begin with this introduction. Reading only this, the neophyte to ancient Greece would have a solid foundation and, desiring more, could easily turn to Kagan's original four-volume history of the war (although, to profit from that, it is a must to have read Thucydides). Even those familiar with the war and with Kagan's works will find this a wonderful refresher.

Kagan avoids modern parallels (except for the briefest of references to Neville Chamberlain and World War I) and the historiographical depth of his four-volume history and instead focuses on creating a solid, flowing narrative and analyzing events where necessary. Kagan's framework for analysis centers on Pericles and his moderating influence on Athenian policy. While Pericles was alive, Athens consistently took the middle path, avoiding the extremes of pacifism and aggression. After he died in 429, Athens moved toward more aggressive policies, exemplified by the massacre at Melos.

Readers will no doubt form their own opinions and draw their own parallels to modern events--whether to the Cold War or the Great War--and that's Kagan's intention, to let the narrative speak for itself. This "tragic event" is eminently worth studying, and Kagan is one of its most eminent modern students. The book does not disappoint.

Rating:
Summary: Kagan's New Book is OK, But Thucydides' is Better
Review: Prof. Kagan, a very respected professor at Yale, has endeavored to write a history of the Peloponnesian War for the the unwashed masses - sort of a "Peloponnesian War for Dummies." However, he leaves out much needed background material for us real dummies. There is no glossary, no description of a trireme, no explanation of where the name "Peloponnesian" came from, no description of how people really lived in 450 B.C., and no explanatory footnotes. Keep your dictionary handy!

On the other hand, "The Landmark Thucydides," a 19th century translation of the 2500-year-old history of the war - including a modern introduction, appendices, glossary, footnotes, photos, and better maps - is actually much more interesting.

The introduction to the "Landmark" appologizes for Thucydides' convoluted and "difficult" verbage which springs from the original Greek. I'm sorry, but Prof. Kagan's writing is even more difficult to follow. He uses obscure words and for some reason refuses to use commas to set off the clauses in complex sentences.

Incidentally, Thucydides explains very early in his book that the southern part of Greece was named after some guy named Pelops, a rich Turk who settled there and whose descendents ran the place for a time. Prof. Kagan either assumes that we dummies already know this or that we're too dumb to care.

I think Prof. Kagan has been a professor too long. His writing lacks spunk.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and thorough history of the Peloponnesian War
Review: Sure you could read all three comprehensive books written by Kagan to get a really in-depth lesson on the Peloponnesian War, but for the casual history buff this is much easier. The book is not short on details though. In 494 pages Kagan does an outstanding job of covering the entire Peloponnesian War from start to finish, giving the reading a thorough understanding of the entire affair. Anyone interested in Greek history ought to read this book, and even then you will have just touched the tip of the iceberg for a country whose history is as vast as any other civilization on Earth.

Rating:
Summary: Pro-Athenian View
Review: Thank the gods! Finally, Thucydides is speaking english. For those who repeatedly hear about the wonders of Thucydides' prose yet can't make it through the entire work, this book is a welcome reprieve. The chronological history of the war and all its precious nuances are delivered to the reader with a true historian's understanding. As a reader who devours Herodotus like candy but can't connect with Thucydides at any point in his work, I found this book to be a valuable resource for the pusuit of information on the Peloponnesian War.

However, I have always been at odds with some of Kagan's points of view. For one, I tend to form my opinions of Alcibiades through my own research. It is apparent that Kagan tends to belittle many of Alcibiades' accomplishments and possibly considers him a bit of a "rogue". And anyone who is familiar with Kagan can attest to his narratives having somewhat of an anti-spartan slant. (Case in point: his palpable dislike for Sparta in his comments during the History Channel's "Rise and Fall of Sparta"). But, just as with any historian, one must read with discretion. Nevertheless, Kagan's effort is greatly appreciated!

Rating:
Summary: Kagan's "Cliff Notes" version of the Peloponnesian War
Review: The Peloponnesian War had more twists and turns than an Agatha Christie novel. Kagan's book goes over them all - succinctly, yet with enough detail that you feel you are getting a thoughtful consideration of the events. In that sense, this is better than a "Cliff Notes" version, but it is truly a fast-paced read.

There are helpful maps throughout the book that are a major plus. Two things would have made this a 5 star book for me. The first would be a glossary or perhaps an introduction that covers basic Greek terms, customs, etc. that are used throughout the book with little explanation. After all, this book was designed for the non-scholarly crowd. Second, I would have appreciated further biography of the major players in the war - Pericles, Cleon, Nicias, Thucydides, etc. Also, an elaboration on the differences between the Athenian and Spartan cultures would have been nice. I wanted to have a better sense of who the people involved in these events actually were.

When I picked up this book, I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into. After all, the Peloponnesian War occured in the 5th century BC, a time far remote from the problems our terrorist-laden world faces today. Instead, I found myself drawing parallels between those long ago events and our era. This is an interesting and thought-provoking book which I definitely recommend.


Rating:
Summary: Excellent intro and overview; lacks drama
Review: The Peloponnesian War is one of the most tragic events in the history of Western civilization. Classical Greece made contributions to science and art and thought that have been unsurpassed to this day. However, their inability to unify or cooperate politically put an end to any future achievements. "The Peloponnesian War" is the story of the war which was their downfall. While it was covered in-depth by contemporary historians, primarily Thucydides, Kagan pulls all the ancient sources together and adds the perspective of modern scholarship to tell the complete story. Thucydides can also be a difficult read and Kagan's book is an excellent primer.

My only complaint is that Kagan's writing style is somewhat bland and he fails to inject any sense of "drama" to the events as they unfold. He is often guilty of giving away the outcomes of battles before he describes them to us.

Overall, however, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this war, Classical Greece, or the history of warfare in general.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic History, in Both Senses
Review: The reader bent on getting through the classic history books always starts with Herodotus, who may often be gullible but is always entertaining. The next on the list is _The History of the Peloponnesian War_ by Thucydides, which is completely different. His classic history of the war between Sparta and Athens has been an object of respect and close study ever since it was written, but is tough reading. Translators agree that Thucydides's style is difficult and subject to varying interpretations, and the different battles and overall strategies of the war can get lost. If you plow through Thucydides, you don't even get to find out how it all turns out; his account ends almost seven years before the war did. If this is daunting, help is at hand. A new volume titled _The Peloponnesian War_ (Viking) has been written by Donald Kagan. He has previously written a four volume history of the war for scholars, but has here distilled the narrative into one (admittedly large) volume. His goal was "... a readable narrative... to be read by the general reader for pleasure and to gain the wisdom that so many have sought in studying this war." He has certainly succeeded. The complexities of the conflict all across the Mediterranean make clear that this was a true "world war," but Kagan has made it as clear for non-specialists as we have any right to expect.

Of course one expects detailed descriptions of the basis of the conflict, the nature of battles, and the personalities of the leaders involved, and these expectations are certainly met, throughout all the arenas of the war. Kagan has deliberately not drawn parallels between this, the first well-documented war effort, and all the others that came after it. Nonetheless, the reader will find much that is familiar, with the either comforting or dismaying realization that things do not change much, even over millennia. Here one will read about mutual nonaggression pacts and how they tangle nations into war. The Olympics are shown to be tools of nationalism (or, at this time, city state-ism). Candidates for office put on religiosity and spectacles; one by Alcibiades's opponent Nicias was an opulent parade for the sake of Apollo. Kagan writes that most Athenians "...believed that the gods must favor so pious a man and smile on the city he led." Here also are worries about the military-industrial complex; a contemporary writer said on one occasion that Athenians had rejected a truce because of deceptions by "practiced warmongers who made private profit from public troubles."

The maps in this volume deserve special mention. They are numerous and clear, and generally are within the text near where the geography needs description. Kagan finishes with an essay about sources. Thucydides is, of course, cited many times, but Kagan does not entirely accept his much-praised impartiality. Among the other sources are Xenophon, an Athenian general who was a disciple of Socrates. The comedies of Aristophanes are frequently cited, for the light they show on certain warriors and politicians, as well as the time's free-ranging nature of satire and public ridicule. It is a pleasant surprise to find that Kagan has found special value in Plutarch; although he lived five centuries after the war and was a biographer rather than a historian, Kagan thinks that Plutarch's own citations of previous historians show admirable scholarship. Kagan's own history of the war falls squarely in that tradition.

Rating:
Summary: Real Insights!
Review: There is so much here. The Greeks must have been very prosperous, or else they could not afford to spend so much of their time fighting. It appears that their main activity was fighting each other, and there were very many City-states involved, at odds with one another as well as with Sparta and Athens. There is a tremendous sense of personal responsibility. Every action of the Athenian generals and politicians was rigorously examined, judged, and if found wanting the man in question was exiled, put to death, or given some other form of punishment. When one considers the fighting, it must be remembered that there was no gunpowder, and no long bow. Most of the fighting was hand-to-hand combat, which puts a completely different dimension on warefare, stressing training, disipline, physical strength and the like, and with particular emphasis on heroism in the field as opposed to running away from a fight. Not infrequently a Greek General was killed because he was there with his troops. Quite a difference from today when a war is fought in Afganistan or Iraq by Generals thousands of miles away, in Tampa, without even the pretense of being at one with the men they are sending out to face the possibility of death.

There are different features of democracy that are illustrated in this history. The indecision, the susceptibility to popular will (like the killing of the Generals after they supposedly failed to rescue downed sailors or retrieve their dead), general stupidity (the invasion of Sicily). Also, the mercurial nature of their decisions, as well as the stubborn lack of change in direction . . these are conflicting actions, but both are present from one campaign to the next. No doubt the Oligarchies were not much better. This points to the government we have in the USA, as the recipient of that prior history ... implying that the ancients must have been studied in depth by Jefferson, Madison and the others of our founders, and thanks to the influence of the Greeks and recognition of their mistakes, we here in the USA wound up with a better government than the Greeks or anyone else has ever had.

Throughout this book I was thinking of Machiavelli and how the Greeks could have used his insights. Particularly with Alcibiades, who went from one side to another . . old Noccolo would never have sanctioned bringing him back, or the widespread use of merenaries . . if these people could be bought, then they could be bought by either side. Machiavelli must have been very familiar with the ancient Greeks because so much of the Prince seems to have originated with the mistakes made by both Athenians and Spartans.

This is a book in the Tuchman mold, very much reminiscent of Guns of August in the presentation of the historic context for actions, delving into personalities of the players, and putting the entire action in an appropriate and understandable context.

This text gives real insights into a period of history unknown to so many, and should be required reading for anyone in a position of leadership, or aspitring to leadership in this country . . to see what came before, and its true relevance to todays events. I remember quotes from Kennedy and Clinton regarding this period of history, but I can't imagine anyone in the present administration who knows more about Attica or Pelopennesia than the quality of their olives.

Rating:
Summary: The New Standard
Review: This book is a wonderful treatise and sure to be the new standard on the Peloponnesian Wars. The great writing and clear organization along with the vast amount of maps will help readers become interested in such seminal characters as Pericles, Lysander, and Alcibiades. These epic war leaders of the 5th century AD are sure to interest you for their eccentricity that is reminiscent of Patton and Macarthur.

Most of the sources are Thucydides history of the war, one in which he participated and fought in on the Athenian side. Nevertheless the book is unbiased and covers all the participants from Athens to Sparta to Syracuse to Corinth. This well written tome is sure to spark renewed interest in Greece and the Hellenistic age. Wonderfully presented I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the classical age or high military drama.

Rating:
Summary: Dull, dull, dull...
Review: This is a great book for those desirous of a single volume reference to the Peloponnesian War. All the facts are here, and the maps are excellent and numerous. As an entertainment, though, forget it. Kagan is obviously bent on providing a simple, relatively brief history (short chapters make for easy reading), but his writing style is so pedestrian and bereft of passion that it is a challenge maintaining your interest. Every page reads like the bare bones summary of an interesting story, one that I'd like to read a good book about some day. But Kagan is definitely no story-teller. Anyone looking for an engaging, immersive read might want to pass on this one.