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Thucydides: The Reinvention of History: The Reinvention of History Audiobook
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(3.07) - 108 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Donald Kagan-Yale's Sterling Professor of Classics and History-delivers a compelling new look at revisionism in Thucydides' classic History of the Peloponnesian War. To determine how accurate and dispassionate the Athenian general really was, Kagan exposes his epic to an enlightening and thorough analysis. Using contemporary and modern sources, Kagan reveals the exiled aristocrat's biases, prejudices, and his clear intention to spin events in his own way.
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"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. "
— Mackay (4 out of 5 stars)
Thucydides: The Reinvention of History Listener Reviews
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" 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. "
— Mackay, 8/30/2013 -
" 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. "
— Bryn, 6/17/2013 -
" 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. "
— Stephanie, 11/19/2012 -
" Looking past the author, this book makes one want to read more of Thucydides. I don't know if a biography can garner higher praise. "
— Tyler, 10/6/2012 -
" Lucid, intelligent, compelling. Not sure about the subtitle 'reinvention of history' as Thucydides was the first history using accountable sources. "
— Leigh, 4/27/2012 -
" It's too short, therefore he doesn't go into fantastic detail on some things I am particularly looking. "
— Wilson, 9/20/2011 -
" 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. "
— doug, 4/15/2011 -
" It's too short, therefore he doesn't go into fantastic detail on some things I am particularly looking. "
— Wilson, 3/8/2011 -
" 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. "
— Bryn, 5/16/2010 -
" 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. "
— doug, 11/8/2009
About Donald Kagan
Donald Kagan is Sterling Professor of Classics and History at Yale University, the recipient of a National Humanities Medal for 2002, and one of the preeminent scholars of ancient Greek history.
About Paul Hecht
Paul Hecht’s long career in audiobooks spans dozens of titles and authors as varied as Ray Bradbury and Gore Vidal, Jack Finney and Thomas Mann. He has recorded such books as Bob Dole’s One Soldier’s Story and Alexander McCall Smith’s Portuguese Irregular Verbs and At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances. Hecht’s theater career in New York includes many Broadway and television credits. He has won nine AudioFile Earphones Awards for his audiobook narrations.