The Landmark Thucydides
A Comprehensive Guide to THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
(amazon)Robert B. Strassler (View Bio)
Simon & Schuster, 1997
The Free Press, 1996
"A magnificent edition." — David Denby, Los Angeles Times
"This handsome volume is a joy to handle and a pleasure to read, whether in short bursts or more continuously; it is a possession, if not for all time, then certainly for a lifetime. The editor and his contributors have asked themselves the fundamental question: how can one best present and interpret the work of one of the most fascinating but difficult of ancient authors to a modern audience unfamiliar not only with the work itself but also with the background to it, political, social, and topographical? Within the scope of a single volume, they have to my mind answered that question brilliantly... No effort is spared not only to help readers find their way through the text, but also to illuminate their reading and put it into context... The translation is further annotated with references to material within the volume itself: references to other sections of the text; references to a series of eleven specially prepared appendices; and references to maps, which are provided in quantity and in detail (they are indeed one of the most valuable elements of the volume)... I would love all my students to possess a copy of this book." — N.K. Rutter, Classical Review
"Thoroughly readable.... Anyone interested in the culture of conflict — political as well as military, contemporary as well as ancient — can learn much from this durable work." — Boston Globe
"All of these supplements [the introduction, epilogue, appendices, running chronology, illustrations, glossary, bibliographies, and encyclopedic index] are useful and highly valuable, and they alone would justify preferring this edition of the work. But there is yet another addition, the value of which one simply cannot exaggerate: Mr. Strassler has included in THE LANDMARK THUCYDIDES more than 100 detailed maps, which are embedded in the text at precisely the points at which readers in the past have longed to visualize Thucydides' account of a battle, a siege or a journey or to see for themselves what was at stake in a complicated set of negotiations.... Without question, this is the finest edition of Thucydides' history ever produced: It is a treasure." — Paul A. Rahe, The Washington Times
"This volume is intended as a landmark, and it is." — The Classical Outlook
