Rating: 
Summary: Oh, how I love Hannibal the Cannibal
Review: Finally, a lively, modern translation so we can grasp what that sophisticated Greek was talking about! Earlier translations were stilted and terribly formal, but worst of all they failed to realize that Polybius was trying to save Greece from the excesses that led to her decline. He often digresses into Greek politics to prove to his Greek readers that he knew exactly what was going on, and therefore was neither an outsider nor a turncoat, but rather a patriot explaining that Rome was the new world power and that the warring Greek states would be a lot better off if they traded Roman Law for Greek Civil War. He wrote all this while a prisoner of the Romans, but he had powerful friends -- like the Scipios. He had to be careful about what he wrote on the one hand and yet he had to get his point across. Polybius was in the hot seat. This translation by Ian Scott-Kilvert shows you just how hot that seat was.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: Finally, a lively, modern translation so we can grasp what that sophisticated Greek was talking about! Earlier translations were stilted and terribly formal, but worst of all they failed to realize that Polybius was trying to save Greece from the excesses that led to her decline. He often digresses into Greek politics to prove to his Greek readers that he knew exactly what was going on, and therefore was neither an outsider nor a turncoat, but rather a patriot explaining that Rome was the new world power and that the warring Greek states would be a lot better off if they traded Roman Law for Greek Civil War. He wrote all this while a prisoner of the Romans, but he had powerful friends -- like the Scipios. He had to be careful about what he wrote on the one hand and yet he had to get his point across. Polybius was in the hot seat. This translation by Ian Scott-Kilvert shows you just how hot that seat was.
Rating: 
Summary: Polybius Five Stars - Penguin Zero
Review: History is best not written by historians. Polybius was not a historian in the modern sense of the word. He was actually a member of the Greek ruling class and a diplomat who didn't write history for money but for a love of knowledge - a true philosopher, then, a lover of wisdom. Historians distort, add their own spin on things, try to impress publishers or university administrators, focus on some things rather than others, and basically streamline and funnel the information that the final reader gets. Although this book is not written by a professional historian, it is edited by one. Frank W. Walbank. What we get here as a result are badly-chosen fragments of the original work. The book doesn't even state clearly what it leaves out. There is a sickening predictability about the way all the more obvious episodes are chosen. Most of the book focuses on the well-beaten historical track of the Second Punic War with its accounts of Hannibal and his blasted elephants. Most of the people likely to read this book probably know Hannibal backwards and are ready for something new from the ancient world. If you are only interested in the HIGHLIGHTS OF HISTORY this book will be fine if somewhat disjointed. Personally, I was hoping it would shed more light on the less well-known corners of history, like the squabbles of the petty Greek states, and the dynastic struggles in the Seleucid and Ptolemaic Empires. I can just picture the editorial meeting with the executives from Penguin and the editor: "Don't bother with all that obscure stuff about the Aetolian League - we don't have room for it. But as for Hannibal - now, there's a star - give him all the space he needs and don't forget the elephants." With a work as important as Polybius, why can't Penguin give us the whole history in as many volumes as they wish and allow the readers to choose which ones to read instead of choosing for us?
Rating:
Summary: Oh, how I love Hannibal the Cannibal
Review: I was introduced to Polybius when I read Penguin's book for a Roman Republic course at UC Riverside. This book is another reason to use history as a kind of medicine, in Polybius' own words. This Penguin version covers all three Punic Wars: Scipio Africanus, Hannibal the would be cannibal, the ptolomies of post-Alexandrian Egypt, the conquest of Iberia, and the decline of Greek morality. Positively riveting it is.
Rating:
Summary: There are gems in this abridged edition
Review: It is true that this Penguin edition is an abridged work but it still has 541 pages. For example, selections from Book VI include "On the Forms of States" (Chapters3-10) and the famous "On the Roman Constitution at its Prime" (Chapters 11-19)-which discusses the great value of Rome's "mixed constitution" (separation of powers among three major power groups -- kinglike executive(consul), aristocracy (Senate), and the general mass of people voting in assembly ) This idea greatly influenced the American Founding Fathers and the design of the American Constitution.) It is rather hilarious to read Chapter II of Machiavelli's "The Discourses" and see how heavily he plagarized from Polybius's "On the Forms of States". However, some of Polybius's ideas had been discussed roughly 200 years earlier in Aristotle's "The Politics" (Book III) "The Roman Republic Compared with Others" (Chapter 43-56) is also an interesting discussion. Polybius notes that a socialistic government like Sparta's promotes internal harmony and civil discord which provides formidable defensive strength. However, Polybius explains how such a society does not have the economic foundations necessary to support a large empire--which accounted for Sparta's failure when it tried to expand. What is very eerie, however, is Polybius's opinion circa 120 BC that Rome and her Constitution might last for a long time --whereas in reality, Rome collapsed into civil war shortly thereafter and the Republic was replaced by the military dictatorships of Julius and Augustus Caesar about 70 years later. Polybius gave us a hint of why this occurred. Polybius noted that Rome's strength was the strong virtue of her citizens -- that it was rare to find a Roman official who would accept a bribe. That changed in the succeeding decades of course -- Sallust noted how corruption arose within the patricians and spread like wildfire throughout the Roman government in the period of 100-35 BC. One could argue that this was the root cause of the Republic's collapse -- Something for the US Congress to remember with it's bland acceptance of today's corrupt campaign finance system. The Penguin edition includes a useful INTRODUCTION written by FW
Walbank in which he provides interesting background material on Polybius --section 11 of Walbank's Introduction has a rough outline of what's been included in the Abridgement. While an even fuller book would have been nice, maybe Walbank wanted us to buy his A Historical Commentary on Polybius :Commentary on Books Vii-XVIII -- by F. W. Walbank
Rating:
Summary: There are gems in this abridged edition
Review: It is true that this Penguin edition is an abridged work but it still has 541 pages. For example, selections from Book VI include "On the Forms of States" (Chapters3-10) and the famous "On the Roman Constitution at its Prime" (Chapters 11-19)-which discusses the great value of Rome's "mixed constitution" (separation of powers among three major power groups -- kinglike executive(consul), aristocracy (Senate), and the general mass of people voting in assembly ) This idea greatly influenced the American Founding Fathers and the design of the American Constitution.) It is rather hilarious to read Chapter II of Machiavelli's "The Discourses" and see how heavily he plagarized from Polybius's "On the Forms of States". However, some of Polybius's ideas had been discussed roughly 200 years earlier in Aristotle's "The Politics" (Book III) "The Roman Republic Compared with Others" (Chapter 43-56) is also an interesting discussion. Polybius notes that a socialistic government like Sparta's promotes internal harmony and civil discord which provides formidable defensive strength. However, Polybius explains how such a society does not have the economic foundations necessary to support a large empire--which accounted for Sparta's failure when it tried to expand. What is very eerie, however, is Polybius's opinion circa 120 BC that Rome and her Constitution might last for a long time --whereas in reality, Rome collapsed into civil war shortly thereafter and the Republic was replaced by the military dictatorships of Julius and Augustus Caesar about 70 years later. Polybius gave us a hint of why this occurred. Polybius noted that Rome's strength was the strong virtue of her citizens -- that it was rare to find a Roman official who would accept a bribe. That changed in the succeeding decades of course -- Sallust noted how corruption arose within the patricians and spread like wildfire throughout the Roman government in the period of 100-35 BC. One could argue that this was the root cause of the Republic's collapse -- Something for the US Congress to remember with it's bland acceptance of today's corrupt campaign finance system. The Penguin edition includes a useful INTRODUCTION written by FW
Walbank in which he provides interesting background material on Polybius --section 11 of Walbank's Introduction has a rough outline of what's been included in the Abridgement. While an even fuller book would have been nice, maybe Walbank wanted us to buy his A Historical Commentary on Polybius :Commentary on Books Vii-XVIII -- by F. W. Walbank
Rating: 
Summary: A great book but an incomplete edition
Review: It is unfortunate enough that only the first five books and a substantial amount of fragments of the rest of Polybius History have been preserved for our enjoyment, but it is really annoying that Peguin Classics has decided to further edit the material that has survived to our days. Penguin Classics should have dedicated two or three books to cover all the material, the same way it handled Livy's (four books). The alternative is the Loeb Classic editions, hard to read, expensive, and very difficult to have access even in public and university libraries. It is also a mistery to me why Penguin Classics has ignored Diodorus Siculus's work (Lybrary) when all specialists agree it is a must read for that period between the end of the Peloponnesian War, Philip the Great and the Alexander's successors. Again the only alternative is the Loeb Classics edition. Too bad.
Rating:
Summary: Sadly, Penguin has abridged Polybius in this edition
Review: It is unfortunate that, despite the fact that some of Polybius's Histories have been lost over time, Penguin made the decision to cut out even more from the text that has luckily survived down to us through the ages. To make matters worse, the introduction doesn't really state clearly what exactly has been cut. Next time I want to read one of the classics, I'll go immediately to Loeb. It's worth the extra cash. Anyone want my Penguin copy?
Rating:
Summary: For what it is -- quite excellent
Review: Many other reviewers on this site lament all that has been cut from this translation. The decision, of course, was not entirely up to Penguin. A great portion of Polybius' work has been lost to the ravages of history. Other surviving portions are quite repetitive. As someone with an interest in the history but not a consuming scholarly passion, I found the selections well-chosen and fascinating; the translation readable. What more can you ask? F.W. Walbank's long-winded introduction told me much more than I ever needed to know about this second-tier historian. What makes Polybius valuable is that he actually played a part in some of the events he described and seems to have prized first-hand sources, interviewing people involved and consulting contemporary documents, especially in the Roman Senate. As a Greek who had spent time in Rome, he wrote the history primarily for his fellow Greeks, to explain how a nothing civilization (Rome) on the edge of the Hellenistic World rose to power so quickly. The account of Rome's Wars with Carthage is very even-handed and compelling. In other passages, his Greek prejudices often show through. Especially when he is talking about rival historians like Timaeus. He devotes a whole chapter, in fact, to insulting Timaeus. The chapter shows you something of Polybius' character that he would stop his history of the world to engage in academic fisticuffs. This book functions well as an explanation of Rome to a non-Roman. I learned a great deal about the character of Rome and the Romans as well as all the Hellenistic kingdoms. At 541 pages, no one can accuse this of being a reader's digest version. The appendix includes nice maps and all the sections are titled so that one can easily flip through and find the portion in the chapter "Affairs in Greece" on "The Character of Philip." I guess what you have to ask yourself is whether you are already an expert on the history of the Mediterranean World from 200 to 146 BCE. If so, you are probably beyond Penguin editions like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the price for a single lesson of history
Review: Polybius treatment of the encounter between the Roman Commander Regulus and the Spartan General Xanthippus (leading the Carthaginians), and the "lessons learned" from their encounter justifies buying this book. The rest is gravy.
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