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sandraandthecity's review against another edition
5.0
A behemoth of a book but an excellent resource to the history of ancient Greece. Waterfield has a lot of ground to cover here - over 700 years of history - but he manages to pull it off, striking the right note between academic text and general reader. He separates the book into 3 major sections: Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic, and within those sections, drills down into the political ideologies, wars, religious changes, and social history of ancient Greece. It’s a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it to those approaching ancient Greek history for the first time.
faustibooks's review
5.0
This is a great book by Robin Waterfield. In it, he summarizes the history of Ancient Greece from the emergence of the Greeks until the Roman conquest. Aside from the typical discussion of war, Waterfield also looks at other very interesting topics, such as the Greek religion, politics in different cities, art, sculpture, literature, philosophy, drama, science, sexuality and the lives of women in Ancient Greece.
Waterfield writes in a very readable manner and never delves too deeply into detail, which is a pity when missing the chance of inserting some fitting anecdotes, but it is also completely understandable when the goal of this book as a summary is clear. From complex events such as the Peloponnesian War to the history of Greek Sicily, Waterfield does an outstanding job of keeping the text coherent and easy to understand. It is because of this, that I can confidently say that I can recommend this book to anyone who wishes to know more about Ancient Greece. From people who barely know anything, to people who already know a lot, this book is great for anyone. With plenty of images of sculptures, artefacts and buildings and a multitude of maps at the beginning of the book, I truly think that this book did a great job at summarizing the complex and rich history that is that of the Ancient Greeks. A well-deserved five-star rating!
Waterfield writes in a very readable manner and never delves too deeply into detail, which is a pity when missing the chance of inserting some fitting anecdotes, but it is also completely understandable when the goal of this book as a summary is clear. From complex events such as the Peloponnesian War to the history of Greek Sicily, Waterfield does an outstanding job of keeping the text coherent and easy to understand. It is because of this, that I can confidently say that I can recommend this book to anyone who wishes to know more about Ancient Greece. From people who barely know anything, to people who already know a lot, this book is great for anyone. With plenty of images of sculptures, artefacts and buildings and a multitude of maps at the beginning of the book, I truly think that this book did a great job at summarizing the complex and rich history that is that of the Ancient Greeks. A well-deserved five-star rating!
elentarri's review
informative
medium-paced
3.0
A nicely written, easy to understand if somewhat bland, introductory history book about Ancient Greece. The author covers the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Eras of Greek history in more or less even spacing, with chapters devoted to thematic topics like the economy and social stratification. Maps and photographs are included.
OTHER BOOK:
Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times by Thomas R. Martin.
OTHER BOOK:
Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times by Thomas R. Martin.
upokyin's review
4.0
How I wish this book had been available four or five years ago when I first started to read Greek history books.
If you are relatively new to the subject, this is an excellent book to start with. If, like me, you have already read much of the "layman's" history on Greece, you might well find much of the content repetitive. In fact the chapters on the post Alexander period seem to have been borrowed from the author's other work "Dividing the Spoils" and I think the author went into too much minute detail here as he was obviously on familiar ground.
Nevertheless I did gain some new insights into the history of the Greeks, especially on the origins of the rivalry between Athens and Sparta which now I know, thanks to this book, started a long time before the Persian wars. Indeed the chapter on the Peloponnesian war was for me by far the best in the book giving much more background information than I have read elsewhere not only on the course of the war itself but also on its origins and its consequences.
If you are relatively new to the subject, this is an excellent book to start with. If, like me, you have already read much of the "layman's" history on Greece, you might well find much of the content repetitive. In fact the chapters on the post Alexander period seem to have been borrowed from the author's other work "Dividing the Spoils" and I think the author went into too much minute detail here as he was obviously on familiar ground.
Nevertheless I did gain some new insights into the history of the Greeks, especially on the origins of the rivalry between Athens and Sparta which now I know, thanks to this book, started a long time before the Persian wars. Indeed the chapter on the Peloponnesian war was for me by far the best in the book giving much more background information than I have read elsewhere not only on the course of the war itself but also on its origins and its consequences.
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