Best single volume work on Ancient Greece

This is an outstanding work given that it covers the period from the Stone Age to the post-Alexander Hellenistic empires. It fulfils the golden rule of writing which is to be both intelligible and interesting. In 30 years of studying, or at least being fascinated by, ancient Greece, this is the best single volume work I have read (or listened to).

I was particularly intrigued by the commenter who claimed the work was an example of woke gender studies; it is nothing of the sort. It may come as a shock to some that there actually were women in ancient Greece and that their lives were somewhat different to those of men. If one wishes to understand history these things are worth knowing. But the author does not moralise about their lower status; nor does he fulminate against slavery. He merely presents us with the facts and allows us to make our own conclusions; as any good historian should.

The author clearly loves his subject and considers that the democracy of Athens is its greatest achievement and the modern world's great blessing. This is the exact opposite of what a woke history would conclude. (I shudder to think of such a thing.)

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Good overall review of Ancient Greece

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The material was engaging enough that the reader's somewhat unenthusiastic (but very clear and we'll spoken) tone didn't make much difference to me.

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3 people found this helpful

Excellent

Comprehensive in scope yet concise in detail with some very proper introductory remarks about the consideration of historical context and treatment of primary and secondary sources to which the author adhered throughout.

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The best introduction to Ancient Greece

This is the best introduction to Ancient Greece. It is comprehensive (for an introductory work) and exceptionally well structured.

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actually Greek history

great to hear about more than just Athens
some new info on such a historically rich land

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Superb Survey

A very good survey of the history of Ancient Greece. Organised chronologically it covers all the usual events in Greek history and does not stint in charting cultural achievements.

Whilst you obviously cannot expect great depth in a short book on a vast subject it manages to present a fair amount of detail whilst still remaining very readable/listenable.

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4 people found this helpful

Solid overview

This was a bit textbooky, and in places felt a bit like Wikipedia, but that's kinda the point - a solid linear narrative history. That it calls out key themes and is at pains to point readers to the original sources is a solid bonus.

Let down slightly by workmanlike narration with occasional glaring shifts in sound quality and reading tone. (I may be being unfair, but I also struggle with American voice artists for European history... Just feels weird, somehow.)

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Very good ,compact history of Greece.

I thought that this audio book was very good. I found out some extremely interesting information. I would recommend. I do however speed up the narrative as the narrator was a bit slow.

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amazing overview, average execution

I found the narration to be choppy and uninspired, but the content was of such high quality that after a while I got used to it and an now SO much better informed on Greek history. A great place to start for anyone wanting to prop up their ancient Greek knowledge

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2 people found this helpful

Perfect introduction

This is a perfect introduction to what is such a dauntingly huge area. It is full of fascinating information while maintaining a really strong narrative line. It gives one the courage to go to the sorce works with some confidence, which is exactly what i was hoping for.

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2 people found this helpful