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The Wars of the Ancient Greeks: And their Invention of Western Military Culture (The History of Warfare) |  | Author: Victor Davis Hanson
Publisher: Sterling
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
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Seller: internationalbooks
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 617794
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.2 x 1
ISBN: 0304352225
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.00938
EAN: 9780304352227
ASIN: 0304352225
Publication Date: December 31, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The Ancient Greeks--who believed that war is the most important thing humans do--bequeathed to the West an incomparable military legacy that still influences the structure of armies and doctrine. Understand the reasons why their unique approach to fighting was so successful and so relentless, its role at the heart of classical culture, the rise of the city state, agrarian duels, the emergence of Athenian and Spartan power, the development of war as a specialized science, and the collapse of Greek warfare after Alexander the Great. 224 pages, 70 color illus., 80 b/w illus., 7 3/4 x 10 3/8.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
 Shame on you, John Keegan March 1, 2009
Lucas Mcmahon (Canada)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is a short-sighted book by a far too-widely regarded charlatan. Hanson's historical method falls seriously short of good research. It is little more than a tract using ancient Greek history and a few other examples to support his thesis for as to why the "Western way of war" is so much superior to that of the east, not merely in the Classical period, but rather through all history. This attitude permeates the book, and makes it very hard to take it seriously.
His treatment of Alexander may be the most poorly written section of the book. If including a quotation by Tarn is your method of balancing the opinion on Alexander, you should be tossed from the Ivory Tower faster than anyone else. He equates Alexander to Hitler, but fails to really draw any believable parallels, much like his "western way of war" thesis. The book is also loaded with references to modern warfare, which is simply not applicable. Besides the massive chronological gap, this is a book on Classical Greek warfare, not the Americans in WWII.
What is truly shameful is that this book is marketed for the general public, and part of the Smithsonian History of Warfare series. John Keegan may be the most renowned modern military historian of our generation, but he doesn't earn himself any credit as being the editor of this abysmal piece of work. This book does little to help a public primarily ignorant of classical history.
The only thing that saves this book from a single star is the well-rendered 3D battle maps. Don't waste your time with this prime example of shoddy scholarship. You can find better maps elsewhere, as well. Look into Fuller's or Cawkwell's books instead if you want to read something well-constructed on Greek warfare.
 Wars of Ancient Greece November 22, 2008
James A. Mcmann (Anderson, South Carolina USA)
Recently, my wife and I traveled to Greece and visited several historical sites of military importance. Upon reading this book, my experiences have been enhanced. I know have a better understanding of these early events in world history. This book is a welcome addition to my understanding of the ancient Greeks.
 Overreaching December 7, 2006
Michael Jasinski
8 out of 34 found this review helpful
One has a sneaking suspicion reading this volume that Hanson started with his conclusion first (that Greeks invented the so-called "Western" way of war which, according to Hanson, requires emphasis on "decisive" battles) and worked his way back. The "uniqueness" of the Western way of war remains unproven (proving it would require an analysis of methods of waging war by other civilizations), and moreover it is far from clear that Hanson's "Western way of war" has been actually waged by Western states.
 Suffers from some factual/interpretive errors and the author's political agenda January 22, 2006
Red Harvest (Georgia, USA)
19 out of 42 found this review helpful
There are some things about this book that are worthy of praise and I agree with many of its points (though he oversells some of them.) When Victor Hanson is writing about the military aspects his style is very interesting and refreshing. I particularly like the statistics/tables in the back--since they provide a sense of perspective and strengthen some arguments.
However, there are aspects of this book that made me skeptical and my fears were confirmed after doing some fact checking. In trying to prove his point VDH sometimes pushes the margins. For example, stating that Philip was wounded by a sling bullet at Methone, when contemporary accounts point to an arrow being the cause. VDH also dismisses Greek cavalry before Philip as being only 10 hands tall...never mind that is the *smallest* find of a classical Greek horse. (They were more like 13 hands high on average...small, but not Lilliputian.) This concerns me as I must now approach the entire work more skeptically.
There is an even larger criticism. VDH writes with a modern political agenda at the forefront, and one has the impression that he selectively picks information to reach pre-ordained conclusions, rather than conducting a thorough, balanced review. This is unfortunate as it removes the sense of historical objectivity. If I was searching for a modern political argument I wouldn't be buying a book ostensibly about ancient warfare.
In summary, I can only recommend this book to the discriminating reader that already has developed a balanced knowledge of Greek warfare.
Jump off point January 12, 2006
Lizardking (Washington DC)
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
This book provides a student or casual reader interested in Greek warfare and anthropological study a good base from which to work from. A little technical at times, he sometimes gets bogged down in some areas, but finishes brilliantly. With the history of Greek warfare fresh in your mind, it's a must to go into "Soul of Battle," right after - it's a wonderful transition into a supurb book on leadership.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
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