A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture

Exactly as the title suggests, this is a BRIEF history of ancient Greece, discussing important milestones in the politics, society and culture of ancient Greece, from its first days to the fall of the Hellenistic kingdoms. Overall, this is an excellent introduction for students and general readers without expertise in the subject, written by prominent scholars in a very lucid, succinct and interesting manner, with the aid of many pictures, maps, excerpts from ancient sources, as well as a chronology of major events, suggested further reading and a short glossary of major terms. The chapter on Alexander the Great's conquests was especially captivating. Still, the brevity of the text does not allow for more than a short discussion of many subjects, and with regard to some this seemed very unsatisfying, e.g. Minoan civilization and the takeover of the Greek world by the Romans. Those who are looking for a more thorough discussion of ancient Greek history should therefore turn to the longer volume produced by the same authors under Oxford University Press. Otherwise, this is an excellent and highly recommended reading for those interested in a brief introduction/overveiw of the subject.

perfect. easy to read and excactly what my son need for his Greek history class

As it says in the title, the book is very brief on a lot of things. I used it in my "Intro to Anciet Greece" class. The professor told a lot more details answering all the questions the students had from reading the book. So, if you wan to just get the jist of ancient Greece, read this book. If you want details, you might have to actually read what historians read in order to write history books on ancient Greece.

great product and fast service

It's good but the cover is broken when i received it.

Came in excellent quality, and fast delivery. Will be reading soon.

An incredibly interesting read. It packs in as much about Ancient Greece as anyone could hope for in a book this size.

This book was purchased to pursue a personal interest in the subject and it has fulfilled that purpose.

About as boring and as exciting as you'd think all at the same time. It's what it says it is, and it worked well for my class

An excellent, very user friendly guide for students of the period. 4 stars instead of 5 due to the hefty price.

Really readable Greek history; bought for a OU course but recommended for anyone.