A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War

by Victor Davis Hanson

Book Overview

One of our most provocative military historians, Victor Davis Hanson has given us painstakingly researched and pathbreaking accounts of wars ranging from classical antiquity to the twenty-first century. Now he juxtaposes an ancient conflict with our most urgent modern concerns to create his most engrossing work to date, A War Like No Other. Over the course of a generation, the Hellenic city-states of Athens and Sparta fought a bloody conflict that resulted in the collapse of Athens and the end of its golden age. Thucydides wrote the standard history of the Peloponnesian War, which has given readers throughout the ages a vivid and authoritative narrative. But Hanson offers readers something new- a complete chronological account that reflects the political background of the time, the strategic thinking of the combatants, the misery of battle in multifaceted theaters, and important insight into how these events echo in the present. Hanson compellingly portrays the ways Athens and Sparta fought on land and sea, in city and countryside, and details their employment of the full scope of conventional and nonconventional tactics, from sieges to targeted assassinations, torture, and terrorism. He also assesses the crucial roles played by warriors such as Pericles and Lysander, artists, among them Aristophanes, and thinkers including Sophocles and Plato. Hanson's perceptive analysis of events and personalities raises many thought-provoking questions- Were Athens and Sparta like America and Russia, two superpowers battling to the death? Is the Peloponnesian War echoed in the endless, frustrating conflicts of Vietnam, Northern Ireland, and the current Middle East? Or was it more like America's own Civil War, a brutal rift that rent the fabric of a glorious society, or even this century's "red state-blue state" schism between liberals and conservatives, a cultural war that manifestly controls military policies? Hanson daringly brings the facts to life and unearths the often surprising ways in which the past informs the present. Brilliantly researched, dynamically written, A War Like No Other is like no other history of this important war.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812969707
• ISBN13: 9780812969702
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Random House Trade
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

"There's a commonality to war...that transends time and space."

The above quote is the thesis of Hanson's book. His message,like Thucydides's classic, is meant to be for the ages. Most of us limit our study to the Pelopponesian War (what Hanson calls the "first civil war in a western civilization")to the great classic, which Hanson points out, sells 10,000 copies a year! This book is as necessary a companion as the comments in the famous "Landmak Thucydides". There is so much in Hanson's book that is thoughtful, from the comparison of Agis and Pericles with Sherman, Kitchener and LeMay, to the key conundrum that Athens could not solve: how to dissolve the alliance of Sparta, Thebes and Corinth. Unlike many others, Hanson does not feel the the Sicilian campaign was in itself decisive in Athens' defeat; rather it was the influence of Persia. Hanson pretty much repeats his excellent earlier work when he discusses land warfare, and his discussion of naval warfare seems heavily influenced by Barry Strauss. Particularly interesting was how the traditional "social" qualifications for serving as a hoplite, cavalryman, psiloi or rower broke down under the pressure of "total war". He raises but cannot solve the problem of the inability of classical Greeks to storm even small cities.

An Absolute Gem

This book is a must read for anyone with even a passing interest in the Peloponnesian War. Familiarity with Thucydides' original history of this event is recommended, but not essential. Hanson helps in this regard with appropriate insights and quotes from Thucydides' work. Hanson's passion for his work comes through in a highly-readable and energetic overview of this important world/civil war. His ability to bring BC events into the present context is remarkable and adds so much to our understanding of something that happened over two thousand years ago.

A history like no other.

Dr. Hanson has taken this well studied war and approached it from a a very interesting perspective. Rather than the standard chronologic retelling (done recently and well by Donald Kagan), Hanson delves into the facets of the conflict such as ships, seiges, horses etc. to craft a readable and stimulating exegesis of the twenty-seven year bloodbath. I say readable because his writing is fluid and almost conversational. You almost feel as though your in a lecture hall. My only criticism (which doesn't cost the book a star) refers to the quality of the maps ...they don't seem to add very much to the text other than simply showing where the various cities or islands are located. Personally, I prefer the tactical maps and would have liked to see more of them, especially for episode such as Mantinea , Delium, and the late naval battles. That aside, this was a wonderful experience. I hope Dr. Hanson will someday do the same for the Punic or other Roman wars.