This is an easy to read translation of Thucydides covering the more interesting and important excerpts from the Peloponnesian War. Covering the wars opening, key battles and Tue fall of Athens at Syracuse, the monologues are easy to read and demonstrate the commonality of politics and human nature over the millennia. A good read.

Thucydides: exiled general, measured historian, and, dare say, first political theorist? I look forward to finishing this one. Plus, I just gotta know if Athens pulls through this one.

War is unecessary. Although I dislike this book for its content I must admit that it is a good source of Greek history, with a fine section about plague and the ethical implications of feeling one is nearing death.

In another life I’d be a history major but alas here we are… its easy to imagine someone writing a book in the past century or so (Jane Eyre, LOTR, etc) but reading works from super far into the past leads me down an existential road. Thucydides was a human just like me, but he lived in such a different world how could we even be the same species?

Why was this actually kinda good though? Lots of juicy ancient tea.

In 2008, I made a New Year's resolution to write a book report for every book that I read (from then on). The only way for me to be successful is to cleave to the quotation, "Better to do things poorly than not at all."

Everyone should read Thucydides. At least read this relatively thin "selections." I wish I had done a close reading with a group.

I am reading this now to prepare for Leo Strauss's The City and Man. It looks at Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics, and Thucydides.

(read for class)

This was a lot harder for me to get through than the other books we’ve read for class, but I did appreciate this discussions that this led to, especially ones about the human condition and power dynamics!

men do this and then call women dramatic

thucydidick.

The book is very dry in an overall sense. The Funeral oration, Melian Dialogue and so forth are great insight however to the deeper context of the rise of the Athenian Empire, and events leading into the Peloponnesian War.

Excellent abridgment of a classic. I loved the translation. Strong recommend if you're looking for something shorter than the full edition.

A very interesting take on war.