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I read Thucydides' famous history years ago and the first book of Kagan's quadrology soon after. This book was a great refresher for me. And I can see how it would definitely help someone who's either reading the original history or planning to.
Zagorin manages to put the work into perspective without burdening the reader with too much scholarship -- just enough to give you a sense of the debates from ancient times to today. The notes are helpful to those who get bitten by the scholar bug.
Some will cry it's no substitute for reading Thucydides himself. That's true, but this book will give you enough details about the war, its causes and results, and why Thucydides is worth reading that you're not simply overwhelmed by the source text. (That said, my recollection of Thucydides -- in English translation -- is of a lucid, engaging, no nonsense writer. One reason he's still popular after all these centuries.)
Zagorin manages to put the work into perspective without burdening the reader with too much scholarship -- just enough to give you a sense of the debates from ancient times to today. The notes are helpful to those who get bitten by the scholar bug.
Some will cry it's no substitute for reading Thucydides himself. That's true, but this book will give you enough details about the war, its causes and results, and why Thucydides is worth reading that you're not simply overwhelmed by the source text. (That said, my recollection of Thucydides -- in English translation -- is of a lucid, engaging, no nonsense writer. One reason he's still popular after all these centuries.)
