Book Review #10

The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

The popular saying 'May you live in interesting times' may not be nearly so wise a request as wishing to live in peaceful and stable times but is eminently more sensible than ever wishing someone to live in original times. If there is one thing amply demonstrated by Thucydides in his epic and timeless history of The Peloponnesian War it would be the truth stated in Ecclesiastes 1:9 'What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.'

Though the events covered occur roughly 2500 years ago it feels as current and apropos as if it had been written this year. I would freely admit that the study of Greek history has not been my most popular topic. In fact, without it having been chosen as the item to study and comment on by Vox Day it is unlikely that I would have ever picked up the text. Having read it I would place it on a top 10 list of books one must read to be considered educated. Thucydides is a master and leaves ample evidence why his work has survived for the millennia. His insightful commentary and balanced portrayal over events occurring in his own life puts to shame the commentary we are subject to in what is called 'The Information Age'. The scope of his work covers the gamut of human motivation and nature as well as political and military situations that are all to familiar.

The particular version of the text I link above, as you can find free versions online and other pay versions, was well worth the purchase price new. The notes included in the text are insightful and help tie things together as do the included maps. This version, unlike some others, does not really continue past the point where Thucydides himself leaves off. As the text comes to an abrupt halt this may be bothersome to some readers. This work receives my highest possible recommendation and I would like to think I demonstrated my own knowledge of the work in Vox Day's Final Exam.

Book Review #7

Augustus by Anthony Everitt

If I could go back and meet just one historical person, outside of Jesus, I think I would choose Augustus. This individual sat at the fulcrum of history. If one is a Christian then it must have some relevance that Christ was born during his governance. If one man has ever truly wielded more power and wielded it rather wisely for such a length of time as did Augustus then I remain unaware of him. And that is the fascinating thing. Many have conquered and there have been more than a few empires, but nothing has captured the imagination as much as the one charted by Augustus. As August himself said when speaking of Alexander the Great being at a loss of what to do after his extensive military conquests, "I am surprised the king did not realize that a far harder task than winning an empire is putting it into order once you have won it". And order it he did.

Alfred North Whitehead once said "I know of only two occasions in history when the people in power did what needed to be done about as well as you can imagine its being possible. One was the framing of your American Constitution... The other was in Rome and it undoubtedly saved civilization for, roughly, four hundred years. It was the work of Augusts and the set around him".

Augustus' accomplishments lend themselves to study. Through his life you can see the path to power and more importantly the means to maintain it. Fascinating man, fascinating life... the measuring stick by which all who would rule must be judged.

Specifically to the book, Everitt has accomplished a very readable history. So readable in fact that I will make it a point to acquire other works by him. He fully admits that there are some portions of Augustus' life that are not well recorded. In these sections he attempts to present what he feels is the most likely scenario to have happened. The narrative starts off with a jump to the end of Augusts' life before returning and treating the subject in a more linear chronological manner. The scope of the volume, while complete, does not render it ponderous or overly lengthy. It is well footnoted and indexed. The text also presents a fair and balanced approach to Augustus detailing his failings and triumphs as a man as well as the character and motives of his main adversaries such as Marc Antony.

I wholly recommend without reservation this book.

Book Review #5

The War of the Roses by Alison Weir

History can be a tricky thing to write about. There is always the issues of bias, accuracy and complexity with which to deal. Being my first foray into this era of English history it is hard to speak to the authors dealings with the first two issues, but it is the latter that presents both the main strength and weakness of the book.

The War of the Roses covers a period of English history primarily from 1455-1487. The text does a solid job of setting the stage for the political situation and bringing the personal traits and motivations of many of the main players to life. Given the magnitude of the cast and the number of titles and people to contend with, the author does an admirable job of keeping the overall flow of the tale moving forward. I do feel that in some form or fashion more could have been done to help the reader keep track of the relationships and titles various people had and held throughout the time frame and their significance. At times it became exceedingly difficult to understand who was related to whom and in what capacity the different titles conferred influence and power. No doubt this was problematic for the people of the time also.

I can recommend the book as a fairly concise and apparently thorough look at the situation and one that leaves you with a richer understanding of a famous time in English history.