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44th out of 95 books
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Thucydides: The Reinvention of History
by
Donald Kagan
A reconsideration of the first modern historian and his methods from a renowned scholar
The grandeur and power of Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War have enthralled readers, historians, and statesmen alike for two and a half millennia, and the work and its author have had an enduring influence on those who think about international relations and war, especially in our own ti...more
The grandeur and power of Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War have enthralled readers, historians, and statesmen alike for two and a half millennia, and the work and its author have had an enduring influence on those who think about international relations and war, especially in our own ti...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
October 29th 2009
by Viking Adult
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Ken
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I wondered what the author meant when he said that Thucydides was writing a revisionist history since he was the first one writing a history of the Peloponnesian War. He had two goals in mind to revise what he thought were errors in contemporary thought on the subject and to leave an objective record for future readers. The author disagrees with many of Thucydides' interpretations of event, yet finds that he has left a clear record for later readers to come up with their own interpretations a...more
A friend asked me about this book. Here is what I wrote to him...
Of course I recommend the book...It's Donald Kagan on Thucydides!!! I admit that I have only inspected the book and have not yet given it the complete reading it obviously deserves. But here's my preliminary impression.
First off, the book develops themes that Kagan has presented in some of his previous work, especially in a brief (and quite insightful) article he wrote about 20 years ago called something lik...more
Of course I recommend the book...It's Donald Kagan on Thucydides!!! I admit that I have only inspected the book and have not yet given it the complete reading it obviously deserves. But here's my preliminary impression.
First off, the book develops themes that Kagan has presented in some of his previous work, especially in a brief (and quite insightful) article he wrote about 20 years ago called something lik...more
Thucydides wrote a history of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta and is widely credited as the first modern historian. The book was written by Thucydides while in exile during the war and his based on his research as well as his first hand observations of many of the key debates and votes in the Athens council. This book by Donald Kagan is not so much a biography of Thucydides as it is a critical analysis of Thucydides' history. Kagan's thesis is that Thucydides revised the thinkin...more
Donald Kagan starts out with a simple thesis: Thucydides, who is widely renowned in modern times for giving "just the facts" in his history, is not entirely free from bias in his History of the Peloponnesian War... in fact, his point was to convince his contemporaries to accept a radically different view of the war than was popular in his day. Contemporaries blamed the war on Pericles, but big T, who had long been a supporter of Pericles, argued that the war was systemic and inevitabl...more
The basic argument here is that Thukydides may well be decently reliable in his reportage, but that his interpretation of the events reported is subject to challenge on numerous counts, such as the causes of the Peloponnesion War, the effectiveness of Pericles, the meaning of Athenian democracy, the scope of the conflict, and the responsibility for the Sicilian disaster (i.e., Kagan makes a decent case that Thukydides' favorite, Nicias, should be cast in judgment).
The fundamental too...more
The fundamental too...more
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I found that Kagan did a great job taking what Thucydides did and shown how he worked like any other historian, picking his topics and presentations.
To say that he's really 'revisionist,' though I think is misleading. To me, you have to challenge other historians to be a revisionist; and Thucydides, working concurrently with his subject matter could be said to be something more akin to journalism than history.
Kagan, I believe, is the true revisionist,challenging the hallowed name of ...more
To say that he's really 'revisionist,' though I think is misleading. To me, you have to challenge other historians to be a revisionist; and Thucydides, working concurrently with his subject matter could be said to be something more akin to journalism than history.
Kagan, I believe, is the true revisionist,challenging the hallowed name of ...more
Kagan's intelligence and erudition are ever worthwhile. This isn't so much a biography of Thucydides as it is a biography of his great history of the Peloponnesian War, its ideas and influence, and also a fascinating look into the practice of history.
Not sure how to classify this one, as it's about a book or author, not a history itself (Thucydides). At any rate, I wouldn't read it until you've read Thucydides and ideally Herodotus, but if you have, it's extremely interesting. I'm reading more history of historians, lately, so this fits in well.
If you haven’t read any Kagan before, better to start with his majestic Pericles Of Athens And The Birth Of Democracy.
Read Pericles first to make sure you dig Kagan.
Frank Kelly
rated it
Kagan is the true master of Ancient Greek and Roman history -- and it always an illuminating experience to read virtually anything he writes. Here Kagan reviews Thucydides and his histories, seeking to dispel fact from fiction and thereby giving us a deeper and more robust understanding of this true Father of History. A great companion book to have and read with Thucydides works
I am very happy to be in a book club that asks me to read things I wouldn't have read otherwise. I thought the Peloponesian War was right after the Trojan War until I read this. History books are not generally my thing but this was interesting.
Dense and academic. I guess you might expect that from a biography of Thucydides, but I have really come to enjoy a much more readable style of writing about dense and academic topics. Kagan is imminently knowledgeable, but his writing his challenging.
It's too short, therefore he doesn't go into fantastic detail on some things I am particularly looking.
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