The Peloponnesian War

New York: Viking, 2003. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Jeffrey L. Ward (Maps) and Michael Marsland (autho. xxvii, [3], 511, [1] pages. Maps. Sources for the History of the Peloponnesian War. Index. Minor edge soiling. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Donald Kagan (born May 1, 1932) is an American historian and classicist at Yale University specializing in ancient Greece, notable for his four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War. He formerly taught in the Department of History at Cornell University. At present, Kagan is considered among the foremost American scholars of Greek history. Known for his prolific research of the Peloponnesian War; Kagan is also famous for his work On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace, a comparative history examining four major conflicts (the Peloponnesian War, World War I, the Second Punic War, and World War II) and one non-conflict (the Cuban Missile Crisis) with the purpose of identifying how and why wars do or do not begin. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded Donald Kagan the National Humanities Medal in 2002. Derived from a Kirkus review: The tale of an ancient conflict, with ample leadership lessons for contemporary statesmen on fate and miscalculation. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 b.c.) ended a golden age of peace, prosperity, and cultural achievement in the Hellenic world. It featured Sparta, the leading army and authoritarian regime in Greece; Athens, the greatest naval power and imperial democracy; and allied city-states. With the death of Pericles two years into the war, Athens lost firm, consistent leadership and thereafter veered between peace and expansionist factions. At the end of hostilities, both sides had abandoned their war aims. The author points out innovative tactics, such as the use of enormous flame-throwers, with the same dexterity that distinguishes his portraits of major personalities like Nicias, the Athenian general who turned the Sicilian campaign of 415 b.c. into a debacle. Authoritative history demonstrating that the reactions of leaders during wartime have altered little.