Is there valuable information here? Absolutely. Is it a landmark piece of history?
Without doubt. But we have (thankfully) come a long way from the monotonous drone in history
writing since the 4th century BC. In other words, its important, but a very tough read.

Thucydides discusses the early war with the Persians and the
subsequent power-vacuum left in Greece following the conclusion of the conflict. He discusses the
merits of both the Athenian League and their Spartan counter parts, thus remaining objective even
though having served as an Athenian general. His knowledge of battles is profound, but more
interesting is his discussion on the politics of Greece at the time.

He makes great use of
political dialogues in order to emphasize important aspects of the conflict and the Grecian
political situation. Especially interesting are Pericles' funeral oration, and the Melian dialogue.
Both dialogues deal with matters of state, i.e. the good citizen, and realist thought towards
nationalist interest.

Through Thucydides work we are able to draw numerous parallels from
antiquity to modern times. Thucydides has almost perfectly captured current international politics
on miniature scale, making observation and study most beneficial to those interested in learning the
underlying processes of global affairs. I recommend a close reading of The Peloponnesian War for
any student of political science or for anyone interested in Ancient History. A most fascinating
read.

Historical
arguments run as to the exact order that the text should be presented in, but this appears to be the
excepted norm. A thoughtful and deep look into the war that tore apart the ancient Greek world,
this is the original "Clash of the Titans."

Thucydides employs the use of rhetorical and artistic
forms to put forth major speeches and to give us a glimps into selected sections and minor
scirmishes that led to the war between Athens and Sparta.

Rather than the traditional Homeric
theory that Wars happened because of the actions of a few people in high places, Thucy. looks to
larger social and international reasoning. There is no "it's because of the gods," but instead a
deep look at human nature and the way that we behave.

A general in the war, and later this
historian and writer, Thucy. looks at the human condition logically and uses a medical perspective
to break things down as if war, and even human nature were a disease that we have yet to cure. This
is genius.

He begins with the theory that the only important things are: men, money and ships.
This returns again and again throughout the entire work until we see how ironical this statement
was, and that he has been slowly dragging us along to follow his theories.

Wonderfully writen and
amazingly ahead of its time, this history should be on everyone's shelf; after they have read it at
least once.