New History of the Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War #1-4

by Donald Kagan

A New History of the Peloponnesian War is an ebook-only omnibus edition that includes all four volumes of Donald Kagan's acclaimed account of the war between Athens and Sparta (431–404 B.C.): The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, The Archidamian War, The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition, and The Fall of the Athenian Empire. Reviewing the four-volume set in The New Yorker, George Steiner wrote, "The temptation to acclaim Kagan's four volumes as the foremost work of history produced in North America in the twentieth century is vivid. . . . Here is an achievement that not only honors the criteria of dispassion and of unstinting scruple which mark the best of modern historicism but honors its readers."

All four volumes are also sold separately as both print books and ebooks.

Genres: History, Greece, Ancient History, Nonfiction

2155 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 14, 2013

About the author

Donald Kagan (May 1, 1932 – August 6, 2021) was a Lithuanian-born American historian and classicist at Yale University specializing in ancient Greece. He formerly taught in the Department of History at Cornell University. Kagan was considered among the foremost American scholars of Greek history and is notable for his four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War.

Reviews

[Alberto Martín de Hijas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since the publishing of the first part in 1969, this history remains the best one can read on the Peloponnesian War. Offering a complete narration of the 27 years of butchery (and of the preceding decades) from its origins to the bitter end, but also a portentous narrative. The reader can not but be astonished at the development of this succesion of (greek) tragedies in which the hibris stalks all its protagonists (the cities themselves among them)

[Daniel Maxwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great work by Donald Kagan ruined by the publisher Cornell University Press who couldn't be bothered to do a basic proofread. Stupid amount of typos, and poor formatting. Caveat Emptor, let the buyer beware.

[Ben Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 27 year Peloponnesian War was conflict on a scale that the Greeks had never known. It snuffed out the ascendant democracy of Athens and many other cities, had immense costs in life, property, and economy, and set the stage for the world-wide empire of Alexander the Great less than a century later. Kagan rightly compares this war to World War 1 for the Greeks, as it so totally influenced the culture and radically changed the understanding of war.

How then, can one begin to understand this titanic conflict? Kagan's four volumes here, are perhaps the best collection to learn from.

For the "normal" person, Kagan has produced a condensed version of these four volumes which are much more accessible. I, however, read that volume to begin, and could not get enough of it. Soon, my wife had gotten me the four volume set for Christmas, and I devoured these as well. This four volume set gives his work space to breathe, and does not shy away from contemplating the historical sources for these events, and puts his work into conversation with many other scholars through extensive use of footnotes. Be wary, however, as these often make use of quoting authors in their original languages. While this was fun for me as a Greek student when he brings up translation issues from the ancients, I had to gloss over the German and French scholars that Kagan is in dialogue with and just trust him.

Kagan's work closely follows Thucydides while critically evaluating him and his biases. Throughout this titanic work, I found Kagan consistently insightful and his work greatly illuminated Thucydides history for me. Particularly, Kagan's rehabilitation of Kleon, his wonderfully worked examination of Nicias, and his evaluation of Pericles' strategy at the beginning of the war were all areas where Kagan skillfully either disagreed with Thucydides or brought out a fuller understanding that the classical historian glosses over.

I also greatly enjoyed that Kagan was not afraid to point out the shortcomings of Athenian and Spartan strategy, and was willing to show how each faction or city-state made crucial errors, often highlighting how they could have better handled the situation. He has been criticized for this, but I found these digressions to be engaging, enjoyable, and helped me be more informed as to the strategic significance of many key events. He does always make sure to circle back around to why the historical decision was made, providing their reasoning while not letting them off of the hook.

While this series will be a significant time commitment, I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with a scholarly-- or just passionate-- interest in the Peloponnesian War.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exhaustive account of the Peloponnesus War

I think for most general-interest readers, the one-volume condensed version of this masterwork will suffice. That said, this 4-volume magnum opus is excellent. It’s well written in accessible prose, and the author is at pains to reach beyond Thucydides alone to consult other ancient sources, thereby rounding out the incomplete or inexplicable parts of Thucydides. I learned a lot I didn’t previously know about this “Great War between Athens and Sparta. Highly recommended.

[Andrew Mossberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow! what a comprehensive history

A phenomenal scholarly account of the Peloponnesian wars with detailed accounts of battles and tactical decisions copiously footnoted and with insightful commentary on accuracy of conflicting accounts.