Audiobook3 hours
How to Think about War: An Ancient Guide to Foreign Policy
Written by Thucydides and Johanna Hanink
Narrated by David de Vries
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Why do nations go to war? What are citizens willing to die for? What justifies foreign invasion? And does might always make right? For nearly 2,500 years, students, politicians, political thinkers, and military leaders have read the eloquent and shrewd speeches in Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War for profound insights into military conflict, diplomacy, and the behavior of people and countries in times of crisis. How to Think about War presents the most influential and compelling of these speeches in an elegant new translation by classicist Johanna Hanink, accompanied by an enlightening introduction.
Thucydides intended his account of the clash between classical Greece's mightiest powers-Athens and Sparta-to be a "possession for all time." Today, it remains a foundational work for the study not only of ancient history but also contemporary politics and international relations. How to Think about War features speeches that have earned the History its celebrated status-all of those delivered before the Athenian Assembly, as well as Pericles's funeral oration and the notoriously ruthless "Melian Dialogue." Organized by key debates, these complex speeches reveal the recklessness, cruelty, and realpolitik of Athenian warfighting and imperialism.
Thucydides intended his account of the clash between classical Greece's mightiest powers-Athens and Sparta-to be a "possession for all time." Today, it remains a foundational work for the study not only of ancient history but also contemporary politics and international relations. How to Think about War features speeches that have earned the History its celebrated status-all of those delivered before the Athenian Assembly, as well as Pericles's funeral oration and the notoriously ruthless "Melian Dialogue." Organized by key debates, these complex speeches reveal the recklessness, cruelty, and realpolitik of Athenian warfighting and imperialism.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherHighbridge Company
TranslatorJohanna Hanink
Release dateMar 19, 2019
ISBN9781684571253
Author
Thucydides
Thucydides was an Athenian historian and general. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the war between Sparta and Athens during the fifth century BC.
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Reviews for How to Think about War
Rating: 4.397058826470588 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
34 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In it self is a very good book, well written and interesting. More over, narrator is amazing. Nice introduction to Thucydides.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Just finished this collection of ancient but timeless speeches on war, politics, and foreign policy.
Highly recommend you have whiskey and cigars on hand to take these in. Also recommend listening to the audiobook for full effect. Speeches should be listened to not read.