A History of the Greek City States, 700-338 B. C.

Interesting history of Greece that is very scholarly and not for popular audiences who are looking for a story. It's mostly analysis

It is ridiculous that anyone could rate this book less than 4 stars. (Indeed, even less than 5 stars would seem specious, in my opinion.)Sealey's history is exceptional in all ways. It is based first on all the ancient (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Isocrates, Demosthenes, etc.) and medieval (Byzantine, etc.) sources ("historical," literary, epigrahic, oratorical, scholia, etc.), which are then complemented by the most recent research. The writing is a model of clarity, efficiency, and verve: all historians, regardless of period of research, should write this well. The narrative moves in fascinating detail. The book includes 17 chapters (and numerous appendices), all thoroughly footnoted with ancient and modern references. The footnotes help to give a sense of the craft of the contemporary historian of Ancient Greece, and are actually fun to read. True, much new scholarship has been published since 1975, some of it surpassing its predecessors, but the main references to the scholarship on Ancient Greece from the late 19th c. to ca. 1970, are still quite solid. Names such as Bury, Jacoby, Gomme, Ehrenberg, Hammond, Hignett, Wade-Gery, Meiggs, Meritt, and Pritchett will not soon grow obsolete, even if "corrected" in places. (Although Georg Busolt deserves to be added to the list.)The maps are clear and excellent. The few B&W photos help give a sense of the landscape of Athens well prior to modern Athenian sprawl. This book is a very satisfying read. Sealey will remain one of the premier guiding lights of Ancient Greek History.In Memoriam, 29 November 2013: Professor Sealey has now passed on, but his body of scholarship will remain a trove of erudition, academic rigor, perspicacious historical judgment, and colorful narrative to anyone interested in the Classical Greek period. Sealey's articles and books give the reader a sense of the great beauty of the Classical Greek achievement, and of the corresponding joy that the study of that age can bring. One can only hope that scholars of Sealey's caliber will somehow continue to be minted. Bertram Raphael Izod Sealey will be missed.

Sealey's book is a great survey of the development of the Greek city state. It provides plenty of depth, and offers a variety of scholarly opinion of the reasons for various historical events. A read this after reading Pomeroy's text book on Greek history, and found it to flesh out my understanding of the classical Greek period enormously. The majority of the book covers the development of Athens, but does spend some time on other city states and their development.Don't read this if you want a summary of Greek civilization. It is a historical report of political events in Greek history.

bad book it is not detailed enough although its pages go on for ages. it jumps from topic to topic and adds sub issues which it doesnt explain this story behind that story

Superb in every way. Just finished it and what a ride; although bond dry, you shouldn't and mustn't expect otherwise. This is as scholarly as scholarly gets.

If you are looking for a wide ranging book to introduce you to the history of classical Greece then this is a great find. The book is well written and contains the most up to date information. However if you are looking to study a particular period or city state in greater detail, this book will merely serve as a good starting point as although it covers too great a sweep of history to delve into much detail, it does have a wide range of attributed sources to pursue, and will give an indication of the important themes.

great content and in good condition, great for my studies but best of all, a small donation for a very good cause

I think this book is a must read for any history student.