Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World, by Paul Cartledge
This book is difficult to review, it reminded me of a hose running uphill, you turn on the water and wait for it too flow. This book does begin to flow, just in a different direction then I expected
The author seems to brush aside the battle of Thermopylae with an historically prefaced glance, with the actual battle beginning well into the books 5th chapter
The author instead chooses to outline the events surrounding the battle more throughly, none in detail, but part of the overall journey
If you are looking for the subtle influences and major forces leading up to the battle of Thermopylae and its relevance in an historical sense, this works well
I did enjoy the authors perspectives on Herodotus, Thucydides, Pericles etc, and their time period agendas, all great stuff
It does become a tad lengthy, but he fills it in with small details of Spartan life that are worth the journey
The book begins with a prologue and includes a few general but extraordinarily resourceful maps, along with illustrations and some well appreciated pictures of time period artifacts showing the Spartan battle dress, weapons, gear etc.
The three appendixes are somewhat long, but seem to work well if you are looking for an abundant amount of background research information, with limited relevance to the story of Thermopylae itself. I learned to really appreciate them, although it is fairly deep and more complex, they are worthwhile to read
The book also included a nice index, bibliography, and glossary
I had previously read The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta, by Paul Rahe (outstanding), along with a couple of others on Sparta. This book does add to that experience in a more retrospective way of looking at history, which I learned to enjoy
Overall happy to have read it. Actually, now that I sit and review it, I think I want to read it again, my thanks to the author
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Aside from Thermopylae
Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World, by Paul CartledgeThis book is difficult to review, it reminded me of a hose running uphill, you turn on the water and wait for it too flow. This book does begin to flow, just in a different direction then I expectedThe author seems to brush aside the battle of Thermopylae with an historically prefaced glance, with the actual battle beginning well into the books 5th chapterThe author instead chooses to outline the events surrounding the battle more throughly, none in detail, but part of the overall journeyIf you are looking for the subtle influences and major forces leading up to the battle of Thermopylae and its relevance in an historical sense, this works wellI did enjoy the authors perspectives on Herodotus, Thucydides, Pericles etc, and their time period agendas, all great stuffIt does become a tad lengthy, but he fills it in with small details of Spartan life that are worth the journeyThe book begins with a prologue and includes a few general but extraordinarily resourceful maps, along with illustrations and some well appreciated pictures of time period artifacts showing the Spartan battle dress, weapons, gear etc.The three appendixes are somewhat long, but seem to work well if you are looking for an abundant amount of background research information, with limited relevance to the story of Thermopylae itself. I learned to really appreciate them, although it is fairly deep and more complex, they are worthwhile to readThe book also included a nice index, bibliography, and glossaryI had previously read The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta, by Paul Rahe (outstanding), along with a couple of others on Sparta. This book does add to that experience in a more retrospective way of looking at history, which I learned to enjoyOverall happy to have read it. Actually, now that I sit and review it, I think I want to read it again, my thanks to the author
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2023
Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World, by Paul Cartledge
This book is difficult to review, it reminded me of a hose running uphill, you turn on the water and wait for it too flow. This book does begin to flow, just in a different direction then I expected
The author seems to brush aside the battle of Thermopylae with an historically prefaced glance, with the actual battle beginning well into the books 5th chapter
The author instead chooses to outline the events surrounding the battle more throughly, none in detail, but part of the overall journey
If you are looking for the subtle influences and major forces leading up to the battle of Thermopylae and its relevance in an historical sense, this works well
I did enjoy the authors perspectives on Herodotus, Thucydides, Pericles etc, and their time period agendas, all great stuff
It does become a tad lengthy, but he fills it in with small details of Spartan life that are worth the journey
The book begins with a prologue and includes a few general but extraordinarily resourceful maps, along with illustrations and some well appreciated pictures of time period artifacts showing the Spartan battle dress, weapons, gear etc.
The three appendixes are somewhat long, but seem to work well if you are looking for an abundant amount of background research information, with limited relevance to the story of Thermopylae itself. I learned to really appreciate them, although it is fairly deep and more complex, they are worthwhile to read
The book also included a nice index, bibliography, and glossary
I had previously read The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta, by Paul Rahe (outstanding), along with a couple of others on Sparta. This book does add to that experience in a more retrospective way of looking at history, which I learned to enjoy
Overall happy to have read it. Actually, now that I sit and review it, I think I want to read it again, my thanks to the author
This book is difficult to review, it reminded me of a hose running uphill, you turn on the water and wait for it too flow. This book does begin to flow, just in a different direction then I expected
The author seems to brush aside the battle of Thermopylae with an historically prefaced glance, with the actual battle beginning well into the books 5th chapter
The author instead chooses to outline the events surrounding the battle more throughly, none in detail, but part of the overall journey
If you are looking for the subtle influences and major forces leading up to the battle of Thermopylae and its relevance in an historical sense, this works well
I did enjoy the authors perspectives on Herodotus, Thucydides, Pericles etc, and their time period agendas, all great stuff
It does become a tad lengthy, but he fills it in with small details of Spartan life that are worth the journey
The book begins with a prologue and includes a few general but extraordinarily resourceful maps, along with illustrations and some well appreciated pictures of time period artifacts showing the Spartan battle dress, weapons, gear etc.
The three appendixes are somewhat long, but seem to work well if you are looking for an abundant amount of background research information, with limited relevance to the story of Thermopylae itself. I learned to really appreciate them, although it is fairly deep and more complex, they are worthwhile to read
The book also included a nice index, bibliography, and glossary
I had previously read The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta, by Paul Rahe (outstanding), along with a couple of others on Sparta. This book does add to that experience in a more retrospective way of looking at history, which I learned to enjoy
Overall happy to have read it. Actually, now that I sit and review it, I think I want to read it again, my thanks to the author
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2016
Top reviews from other countries
Lune529
Hohe Informationsdichte, auch für Laien geeignet
Reviewed in Germany on January 6, 2019
Patrick Sullivan
Informative, But A Little Dry
Reviewed in Canada on October 14, 2008demdike
An excellent account and analysis
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2007Mark Knowles
Clear and erudite - without oversimplifying
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2014
