The Landmark Thucydides
A Comprehensive Guide to THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
(amazon)Robert B. Strassler (View Bio)
Hardcover: The Free Press, 1996; Paperback: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
From the Society for Classical Studies Outreach Prize Citation to Robert B. Strassler: At the recommendation of the Outreach Prize Committee, the American Philological Association Board of Directors has awarded the 2014 Outreach Prize to Robert B. Strassler, for conceiving, initiating, and editing The Landmark Ancient Histories. Strassler is an independent scholar who studied history at Harvard, then attended Harvard Business School, before taking over a family oil drilling equipment business. He retained a passion for ancient history, however, and in 1976 became affiliated with Bard College at Simon's Rock, from which he received an honorary doctorate in 1996. When asked to teach a course on ancient history, he found that his students were prevented from engaging with the Greek historians by the rebarbative nature of the available translations. This inspired Strassler to develop the plan for the Thucydides volume that began it all. Strassler's perspective on the ancient texts—that of a fascinated amateur (though he also published two articles in JHS)—enabled him to perceive the needs of a broad readership with particular clarity. The Landmark translations are characterized not only by lucidity, but by a whole suite of aids to the reader. As Glenn Bowersock wrote in the The New York Review of Books, ‘for the first time a Greekless reader could study the text closely and critically, much as a professional classicist would.’ The Landmark books are very modestly priced, and thus widely accessible. Their classroom impact has extended well beyond classics, to such fields as History, Political Science, and Philosophy…. The Society for Classical Studies is delighted to have this opportunity to recognize and honor the work of Robert Strassler in bringing The Landmark Ancient Histories to fruition.”—Outreach Prize Committee, Society for Classical Studies [American Philological Association]
At the recommendation of the Outreach Prize Committee the APA Board of Directors has awarded the 2014 Outreach Prize to
Strassler is an independent scholar who studied history at Harvard, then attended Harvard Business School, before taking over a family oil drilling equipment business. He retained a passion for ancient history, however, and in 1976 became affiliated with Bard College at Simon's Rock, from which he received an honorary doctorate in 1996. When asked to teach a course on ancient history, he found that his students were prevented from engaging with the Greek historians by the rebarbative nature of the available translations. This inspired Strassler to develop the plan for the Thucydides volume that began it all.
Strassler's perspective on the ancient texts--that of a fascinated amateur (though he also published two articles in JHS)--enabled him to perceive the needs of a broad readership with particular clarity. The Landmark translations are characterized not only by lucidity, but by a whole suite of aids to the reader. As Glenn Bowersock wrote in the The New York Review of Books, "for the first time a Greekless reader could study the text closely and critically, much as a professional classicist would."
The Landmark books are very modestly priced, and thus widely accessible. Their classroom impact has extended well beyond classics, to such fields as History, Political Science, and Philosophy. Their influence outside the academy is evident not only from the sales numbers (more than 208,000 so far), but from the popularity of the series website (well over 400,000 visits since 2010).
The SCS is delighted to have this opportunity to recognize and honor the work of Robert Strassler in bringing the Landmark Ancient Histories to fruition.
Outreach Prize Committee?
- See more at: http://apaclassics.org/awards-and-fellowships/2014/outreach-prize-citation-robert-strassler#sthash.pStqoRD0.dpufAt the recommendation of the Outreach Prize Committee the APA Board of Directors has awarded the 2014 Outreach Prize to
Strassler is an independent scholar who studied history at Harvard, then attended Harvard Business School, before taking over a family oil drilling equipment business. He retained a passion for ancient history, however, and in 1976 became affiliated with Bard College at Simon's Rock, from which he received an honorary doctorate in 1996. When asked to teach a course on ancient history, he found that his students were prevented from engaging with the Greek historians by the rebarbative nature of the available translations. This inspired Strassler to develop the plan for the Thucydides volume that began it all.
Strassler's perspective on the ancient texts--that of a fascinated amateur (though he also published two articles in JHS)--enabled him to perceive the needs of a broad readership with particular clarity. The Landmark translations are characterized not only by lucidity, but by a whole suite of aids to the reader. As Glenn Bowersock wrote in the The New York Review of Books, "for the first time a Greekless reader could study the text closely and critically, much as a professional classicist would."
The Landmark books are very modestly priced, and thus widely accessible. Their classroom impact has extended well beyond classics, to such fields as History, Political Science, and Philosophy. Their influence outside the academy is evident not only from the sales numbers (more than 208,000 so far), but from the popularity of the series website (well over 400,000 visits since 2010).
The SCS is delighted to have this opportunity to recognize and honor the work of Robert Strassler in bringing the Landmark Ancient Histories to fruition.
Outreach Prize Committee?
- See more at: http://apaclassics.org/awards-and-fellowships/2014/outreach-prize-citation-robert-strassler#sthash.pStqoRD0.dpuf"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
