The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta: The Persian Challenge

by Paul A. Rahe Narrated by Bronson Pinchot

Overview

More than 2,500 years ago, a confederation of small Greek city-states defeated the invading armies of Persia, the most powerful empire in the world. In this meticulously researched study, historian Paul Rahe argues that Sparta was responsible for the initial establishment of the Hellenic defensive coalition and was, in fact, the most essential player in its ultimate victory.

Drawing from an impressive range of ancient sources, including Herodotus and Plutarch, the author veers from the traditional Athenocentric view of the Greco-Persian Wars to examine from a Spartan perspective the grand strategy that halted the Persian juggernaut. Rahe provides a fascinating, detailed picture of life in Sparta circa 480 BC, revealing how the Spartans' form of government and the regimen to which they subjected themselves instilled within them the pride, confidence, discipline, and discernment necessary to forge an alliance that would stand firm against a great empire, driven by religious fervor, that held sway over two-fifths of the human race.

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2016 - AudioFile

Rahe’s scholarly history of Sparta in the Greek and Persian wars makes for a difficult audiobook, and Bronson Pinchot’s narration hinders more than helps the listener. His pace is often a beat too quick for a book so densely detailed, especially where the listener, lacking maps, must visualize the geography. He pauses before most names and technical terms on first mention, reading them with a question in his voice, a distracting practice in a text laden with a bewildering number of such words. His narration has many serviceable passages, but at times he varies intonation in ways that obscure the sense, or he inserts pauses that break the flow, then rushes on, making comprehension more difficult. It’s a bumpy reading, often hard to follow. W.M. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169904918
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	11/24/2015
Series:	Yale Library of Military History
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	440,839

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