PDF Ebook The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss
Being prominent for a book will make the name and also web content of guide is likewise trusted. The Appeal of this publication is likewise balanced with the contents and also whatever informed as well as discussed. When you need something trusted, The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss holds good way to pick. You may feel that this book will certainly be tough to review and also understand. Why? Popularity is commonly for the big publication that features hard composing styles.
The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss
PDF Ebook The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss
The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss. Thanks for visiting the most effective web site that provide hundreds sort of book collections. Right here, we will certainly offer all books The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss that you require. The books from renowned writers as well as publishers are offered. So, you can appreciate now to get individually type of publication The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss that you will certainly look. Well, related to the book that you really want, is this The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss your selection?
As known, book The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss is popular as the window to open the globe, the life, and brand-new thing. This is what individuals now need a lot. Even there are many people who do not like reading; it can be an option as referral. When you actually need the methods to produce the next motivations, book The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss will truly guide you to the means. In addition this The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss, you will certainly have no remorse to obtain it.
Never mind! Currently, in this modern period, you can get guides from several resources. No have to most likely to the book stores as well as walking the city, you could discover book. Right here is the web site that features all superb books to collect. You could get it in the soft documents and also utilize it to read. Certainly, your tab and computer ends up being excellent gadget to save guide. The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss is the best recommendation to accompany you in this time. It will aid you accompanying the spare time while holidays.
By downloading and install the online The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss publication right here, you will certainly obtain some advantages not to go with guide establishment. Simply attach to the web and start to download and install the web page link we discuss. Now, your The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss is ready to enjoy reading. This is your time and your serenity to get all that you desire from this publication The Trojan War: A New History, By Barry Strauss
Review
"The Trojan War is a lyrical, entrancing book, ringing with arms, and also with truth." -- Nathaniel Fick, author of One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer"A must-read for anyone interested in war, history, or ancient times." -- Max Boot, senior fellow in national security studies, The Council on Foreign Relations, and author of War Made New: Technology, Warfare, and the Course of History, 1500 to Today"An exciting tale written in a lively style that brings Homer's heroes and the world in which they lived to vibrant and colorful life." -- Donald Kagan, Sterling Professor of Classics and History, Yale University
Read more
About the Author
Barry Strauss, professor of history and classics at Cornell University, is a leading expert on ancient military history. He has written or edited several books, including The Battle of Salamis, The Trojan War, The Spartacus War, Masters of Command, and The Death of Caesar. Visit BarryStrauss.com.
Read more
Product details
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0743264428
ISBN-13: 978-0743264426
Product Dimensions:
6.1 x 0.7 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
3.9 out of 5 stars
87 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#399,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
This is a lovely book. Essentially, it is a retelling of the Trojan War, but in light of the conclusions (always tentative, of course) of modern history, archaeology, epigraphy, physical anthropology, and the studies of multiple classical languages. The author clarifies (to the degree possible) the actual length of the war (shorter than ten years) and the actual number of combatants (far fewer than 100,000 on each side). For example, he notes that idiomatic Greek in Homer's time may use expressions comparable to our "On a scale of one to ten, how great . . . ?" Hence, the Trojan War is a ten but not necessarily ten years in duration.We learn at length about Greek and Trojan weapons, armament, foods and attitudes toward women. We hear the hisses of arrows in the winds and the sounds of spears hitting flesh targets, and realize the threats posed by malaria-carrying mosquitoes from the standing water on the Trojan plain.The information in the Iliad is supplemented by information from other literary fragments and the military practices of the Bronze Age are utilized as background material. The book is the product of massive research but the results are delivered in lovely prose that is accessible by a lay audience. In my opinion, this is the sort of book that academics should spend a good bit more time writing—a book that utilizes the results of serious scholarly research to clarify matters of significant interest to a general audience. Just a sample of the quality of the writing:"On the mountaintop, where the goats forage in the crevices between the rocks and the only sound beside their bleating is a sudden burst of wind in the wildflowers, the sky is the same shade of pale blue and gray as the eyes of the goddess Athena" (p. 183).The quotes from the Iliad are from Pope's translation and it is very special. One of the problems in the American university is that courses are taught to large numbers within the constraints of a semester or quarter and the readings must fit within those constraints. In the 18thc, e.g., students are never exposed to some of the masterpieces of the period (Pope's Homer, Gibbon's history of Rome, Johnson's Dictionary, etc.) because their size does not fit neatly into the syllabus. Here is the chance to hear some of Pope's Homer and it is wonderful.The book also contains a very helpful set of maps of the area, a 7-page glossary of key names and a long 'note on sources' which is, in effect, a set of 'additional readings'.For readers seeking an intelligent, informative and entertaining read, look no further.
There are countless interpretive views of The Iliad, The Trojan War, and the historical epochs within which each was written and/or possibly occurred. Most I've read range from the dismissive, that is, "not history," to the inclusive, that is, emphasizing Homer's historicity. Mr. Strauss supports elements of those extremes, but more firmly grasps a view that does not simply affirm, nor deny, those aspects, rather he offers a far more useful, practical, and historically reasonable explanation of the characters, motives, strategies, and depictions of them, in context. It is the view of an historian with an easy writing style that posits, then makes points in a clear and direct manner. It's a short treatment, an easy and worthwhile read for anyone interested in the subject(s). My only negative is I wished for MORE.
For centuries the established wisdom has held that the Trojan War is pure myth, a heroic fabrication of poets like Homer. This idea was little altered even with the discovery of Troy's ruins. Barry Strauss's contention in this book is that Homer's account is not as outlandish as has been believed. Strauss doesn't attempt to show that the Trojan War occurred in exactly the way Homer described, but only that it certainly could have. He does an admirable job.The book takes most of its structure from the Greek myths themselves, especially the version found in The Iliad. Strauss begins with Paris abducting Helen and proceeds rapidly from there to the final destruction of proud Ilium. Each chapter covers a particular section or theme found in The Iliad, including the initial abduction, the bickering between Achilles and Agamemnon, the plague, the nighttime treachery of Odysseus and Diomedes, and the great final duel between Hector and Achilles.With each section Strauss adopts something of an "if-then" approach, for example: if a Trojan prince named Paris seduced and abducted a Greek queen how would it have happened, knowing what we now know historically and archaeologically about that period in history? IF he had THEN they may have spoken in Greek, or perhaps Luwian, a near-relation of Hittite etc. The results are endlessly fascinating. Strauss clearly knows his stuff and knowing you're in the hands of a master makes the book a joy to read.The book is not without its flaws. It's very short, offering a very tasty sample of a rich subject but not a full course meal. And, quite honestly, the vast majority of Strauss's work is conjecture. Well-reasoned conjecture based on extensive research and an obviously keen mind, but conjecture nonetheless. Also, Strauss extrapolated from the Hittites and Egyptians just a little too often. They may have lived in close proximity in both time and place to the bronze-age Greeks and Trojans described here, but there still must have been huge cultural differences.In the end, all we do know for sure is that Troy once was and then burned to the ground in some catastrophe. Whether Strauss's book offers the answers or not, it is engaging, enlightening, and never boring. It gave me not only a greater appreciation for the history that may lie behind the myth, but for the myth--and Homer's account of it--itself. The next time I read The Iliad I'll do so with this book firmly in mind.Recommended.
The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss PDF
The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss EPub
The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss Doc
The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss iBooks
The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss rtf
The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss Mobipocket
The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss Kindle
