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Summary: The Beginnings of True History
Comment: Thucydides earned an honored spot among ancient writers by being one of the first to break with the
old ways. Up to his time natural disasters, national defeat and personal tragedies were blamed on
the "gods". This remained true even when the writers themselves doubted the existence of those
beings.

Thucydides took part in the famous war between Athens and Sparta and somehow made the
decision to - for the first time - write a factual historical record of the events instead of using
legends and tales. He conducted interviews, traveled for first-hand investigation and laid out not
only the war but the political and social conditions that surrounded the event.
If one were to
judge the work based on the literary quality of the content it would be difficult to award the five
stars. But the translator has made the best of an old style of writing that is detailed, pedantic
and remorseless with the facts and consequences of mistakes. It is a miracle - and a blessing -
that some anonymous scribe in a small room with candle and quill undertook the task of replicating
his words for us almost 2,500 years later.

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Summary: The Originator
Comment: I had a Greek teacher who loved Herodotus, and did not love Thucydides. The consequences were not,
perhaps, what you might expect. In the event, when we studied Herodotus, she would chatter on about
the background, the characters. When we came to Thucydides, without nearly so much to entertain her,
we just read the Greek.

Good thing, too. Herodotus' Greek is not elegant, and it is not
pure Attic. But it is accessible to the relative novice. Thucydides, on the other hand, is about as
hard as it comes - made worse by the fact that he is most accessible where he is least interesting,
which is to say in the passages of pure battle narrative. It is in the "reflective" passages - where
his "characters" are trying to explain or justify their actions, or where he is simply trying to
make sense of an appalling calamity - that he is most obscure.

Is this an accident? I
think not. Thucydides is, after all, an originator. He is perhaps not quite the first to give us a
narrative of events, but he is surely the first to try to make sense of it all. And to recognize the
path taken by his own beloved country as the course of stark strategy. It is the story, in short (at
least at one level) of how a nation perhaps too rich and too self assured, can go terribly
wrong.

It was fashionable to cite Thucydides in the dark days of the Vietnam War. I
wonder if the comparison shows us too much flattery. For Thucydides' story is not only a story about
the arrogance of power. Athens at its best was a priceless treasure. Anyone can throw away an
opportunity, but some opportunities are better than others.

Suggestion: of all the
readers who responded to the challenge of Thucydides, none met it more dramatically than Thomas
Hobbes, the British political philosopher who began his career by fashioning the first great English
translation of the Peloponnesian War. Hobbes' 17th-Century translation is perhaps not the most
accessible, and I gather it is not the most accurate. But Hobbes has a gnarly directness of his own,
and echoes of Thucydides reverberate through just about everything he later wrote.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The Classic Work of History
Comment: All serious students of military history should read Thucydides. It took me many years to get
around to him, but it was well worth it. In order to understand all the popular topics of military
history, US Civil War, WW2, etc., a reading of this work should be required. So much in this book
relates to the Western experience of war throughout the centuries. Indeed, this work is considered
one of the original primary sources of Western History, and one can easily see why.

Thucydides
speaks of human nature, which from reading him we can see has not changed much over the centuries.
The clash between Athens and Sparta can rightly be considered one of the classic confrontations of
all time. One a naval power and the other a land power. Such a war was bound to shack the very
foundations of the classical world as the old traditions of Greek Hoplite warfare were forever
changed by this conflict. Thucydides provides us a stunning portrait of city states at war. The
arrogance, greed, cunning, desperation and cruelity are all there for us to see. One can chart the
progress of this conflict and see the effects at had on both protagonists. Over time the original
reasons for the conflict become obscure as the war takes on a life all its own, which neither side
seemingly willing or able to end it. Some of the names mentioned are well known in Greek History.
Pericles and Alcibiades must surely be the best known, but there are also Cleon, Brisadas and
others. The character of Alcibiades must surely be the most interesting, and one that we can
certainly relate to in our own times. Former US President Bill Clinton probably most resembles him.
Both are brilliant men of low social character and absolute opportunists.

Pure military
historians may find this book a slow read at times. There are relatively few stand up batttles
except for Nemea and Mantinea, and these are given cursory descriptions at best. The conflict
consists mostly of sea-borne operations and raids. One can see the early development of combined
land and naval operations here. The highlight of the book is surely the Sicilian campaign of
415-413. Here Athens gambled all to become the supreme power of the classical world. Had she
prevailed Western History might have developed quite differently. Again, arrogance and
mis-judegment would undo her.

The constant references to strange sounding locales and peoples
does not make Thucydides an easy read. At times one will almost feel lost in the details. The
Penguin edition could use a new look with a lot more maps and visuals to aid the reader in keeping
track of the action. The existing maps are woefully inadequate. This is the only reason why I have
given this book a four star rating. The presentation needs to be improved with a newer edition.
Those seeking to get more out of this work should consult Donald Kagan's new book on the
Peloponnesian War. The reader will find invaluable assistence here to help in their understanding
of this classic work of history.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A lengthy albeit remarkable book
Comment: Thucydides' attention to detail is easily palpable and at times becomes numbing to the reader who is
not familiar with the myriad of hellenic city states and peoples who come and go. The author's
attempt to create a historical account that is far-reaching and profound is successful. The book,
to me, reads as though it it could have been written in almost any time; absent are explicit biases
common in early historical writting. The summations of speeches such as those of Pericles and the
Mytileneans reveal a striking commentary on what the nature and obligations of a city or empire
should be. Parts of Pericles' speech in particular seem almost ahistorical - rife with arguments
for the defense of freedom and liberty - and could be grafted into the address of any modern
democratic politician. The maps at the end of the book, despite their ancient asthetic, are not
helpful in locating many of the regions and smaller cities the book concerns itself with.

Customer Rating:

Summary: History as Story
Comment: By fortune, for me, Thucydides came first in college...followed not long after by David Halberstam's
The Best and the Brightest... followed by Neil Sheehan's A Bright and Shining Lie.

Like Gibbon,
Toqueville and so many others, the story teaches.

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