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Master of Puppets
Samurai
Joined: 06-Aug-2004
Location: Netherlands
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Posts: 108
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Topic: Donald Kagan - The Peloponnesian War Posted: 15-Aug-2004 at 16:25 |
Has anybody read this book? I once got a translation of Thoukudides (maybe a select few will remember) but never really got through it (I'm still planning to do so once). I recently bought Donald Kagan's book on the Peloponnesian War in a local bookshop (I bought it because I wanted to "research" the subject again) and I found it highly enjoyable. It is the first in-depth book I have read about the subject, so I'm by no means an expert, but I thought it was a great piece of work. Kagan analyzes every situation and gives balanced judgements, while on the other hand managing to keep things interesting (although this is also due too the fascinating personalities involved, which is always one of the plus-things of political history for me). This book certainly was an eye-opener for me, too. It made me fully aware of the extreme complexness of politics in Ancient Hellas and how terrible this war really was.
Any other thoughts?
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Wherever I turn, there is Death.
The Epic of Gilgamesh; Tablet XI, line 245
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Yiannis
Sultan
Joined: 03-Aug-2004
Location: Neutral Zone
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Posts: 2329
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Posted: 16-Aug-2004 at 03:42 |
Never read this book. But once you read it, go back and re-read Thukidides book. You'll appreceiate it a lot more!
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The basis of a democratic state is liberty. Aristotle, Politics
Those that can give up essential liberty to obtain a temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin
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Master of Puppets
Samurai
Joined: 06-Aug-2004
Location: Netherlands
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 108
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Posted: 16-Aug-2004 at 08:47 |
I finished Kagan's book a week ago or so. But there's so much left to read. I'll check out Thoukidides again though during one of the coming months
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Wherever I turn, there is Death.
The Epic of Gilgamesh; Tablet XI, line 245
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YusakuJon3
Shogun
Joined: 04-Aug-2004
Location: United States
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Posts: 223
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Posted: 19-Aug-2004 at 19:48 |
Having finished reading Kagan's book last year, I'm interested in
reading Thuycidides's (sp?) account, as well as the account of the
final years of the conflict as told by Xenophon. Kagan basically
points to these two volumes as the primary sources for his material,
although some of the personalities such as Pericles and Alcibiades are
also portrayed in Plutarch's Parallel Lives volumes. I also wonder if other ancient writers such as Diodorus also mentioned the conflict in their material.
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"There you go again!"
-- President Ronald W. Reagan (directed towards reporters at a White House press conference, mid-1980s)
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BattleGlory
Knight
Joined: 03-Aug-2004
Location: United States
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Posts: 71
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Posted: 27-Aug-2004 at 16:33 |
It's excellent! I'm only about half-way done with it, but I plan on getting his much more indepth, four-volume series on the Peloppenesian War afterwards!
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~If you don't know history, you don't know anything.
~Time can change me, but I can't change time.
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Master of Puppets
Samurai
Joined: 06-Aug-2004
Location: Netherlands
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 108
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Posted: 01-Sep-2004 at 06:19 |
Yeah, I read about that series, too. However, as I'm no expert on military history (and can't find such specialized literature in our local bookshop anyway, I'd have to order such a thing) I decided to buy this book. I wonder how frigging in-depth the series will be, as this book is already so very informative.
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Wherever I turn, there is Death.
The Epic of Gilgamesh; Tablet XI, line 245
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BattleGlory
Knight
Joined: 03-Aug-2004
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 71
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Posted: 02-Sep-2004 at 14:08 |
I know. I think they're going out of print though Amazon has only a couple copies of 2 of them left.
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~If you don't know history, you don't know anything.
~Time can change me, but I can't change time.
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