Wouldn’t it be fascinating to talk to someone for hours and hours who lived thousands of years ago? I guess that’s why I chose this book. I’m desperate for a different voice… somebody, anybody, a person from a totally different time. You see, there comes a point when you have to stop reading ‘dummies guide to’, and summaries and actually make contact with one of those persons through the original text. Thucydides is the perfect candidate. Right from the beginning – and his discussions of earlier even more ancient history – I found this voice compelling and disarming… i.e. I got exactly what I was looking for. I can’t guarantee you will like this the way I could guarantee Bleak House but if you like history and want something different this work is well worth your time because you will really feel you are listening to a genuinely alien, ancient voice.
