The Soul of Battle : From Ancient Times

Soul of Battle's theme is "Never in human conflict have such vast democratic infantry forces appeared out of nowhere, wrought such havoc and then dispersed among the consensual culture that fielded them."  The focus is on Epaminondas  of Thebes and his campaigns which destroyed Sparta; Sherman’s March to the Sea and march through the Carolinas in 1864-65, and Patton’s Third Army campaigns from Normandy to Czechoslovakia in 1944-45. Jumping back and forth while discussing each leader in historical context, Hanson shows that these seemingly different men are very similar. Click for the rest of the review....

Carnage and Culture

The Trial of Socrates - I.F. Stone - places the writings of Plato in the context of  Plato's and Socrates' support for oligarchy rather than democracy

Alexander the Great

The Coming of the Greeks : Indo-European...  This is a fascinating look at the development of chariot warfare and an examination of early migrations across Anatolia.   These accomplishments are even more impressive when you explore Eastern Turkey and see the formidable geographic challenges these people faced.   Several recent proposals (for both the Greeks, and the Israelites) is that mythical ancestral migrations were actually later retellings of the making of nations from people who were already living in those areas.  This book takes a look at the latest evidence.

In Search of the Trojan War Exploring the site of Troy is a fascinating experience.  It's one of the better preserved sites, and is well displayed.  Wood's excellent book gives historical and archaeological background to the site.  It's based on the PBS TV series (which may be available from your public library)

 Peloponnesian War

Fiction:

Tides of War : A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War – Steven Pressfield  After thoroughly enjoying his previous book, (Gates of Fire, about the battle of Thermopylae), I was disappointed in this follow-up book on Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War.   In the first book, the idea of having a lone survivor tell his story to Xerxes worked well in both suspense and dramatic terms.  This time  [click to continue]