An amazing book! Probably one of his finest. The peloponnesian war was truly a war like no other, the first of its kind. A war that should be analyzed by any lover of history and warfare. Victor David Hanson is a master, he is truly an American Treasure.

Not the first book you want to read on this subject. It is not a chronological presentation of the war but rather an analysis of the causes, effects and mechanics of the war. The book is really at its best, when you are already familiar with what happened in the peloponnesian war. But when you are, the analysis and conclusions Victor Davis Hanson is making are captivating.

Victor Davis Hanson, military historian turned Op-Ed rabble-rouser, holds firm to his belief that there are important lessons to be learned from the past. He has written extensively on the subject (The Western Way of War; Carnage and Culture; Between War and Peace). As a "modern Machiavelli" (Daily Telegraph), he has bent the ears of policy makers all the way up to the West Wing. Critics are impressed by Hanson's ability to bring all the machinations of the Greeks alive in his thematic chapters. They are equally intrigued by his cogent theory that finds similar strains of pride, militarism, and democratic evangelicalism in both the Athenians and Americans.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.

It was my first book on classical geek history so I cannot compare with others, but I found it truly fascinating and easy to read. I enjoyed original theme-based approach used by the author which instead of narrating the war in a chorological fashion, devotes an entire chapter for each of the particular types of fighting (sieges, naval warfare, hoplite pitched battles, irregular warfare, coups, diseases etc). This method really allows the author to go into deep analysis for each of the themes. The book is backed by an impressive collection of endnotes which both gave additional details and suggest additional readings for specific aspects covered in the book. Finally I also enjoyed that the author backs a lot of his analysis on data (causalities figures, expenditures, order of battles) etc.