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Description of  From Solon to Socrates: Greek History and Civilization During the 6th and 5th Centuries BC, 2nd Edition

One of the better surveys of classical Greek history available, this book begins with short introductory chapters on the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. before moving on to a chronological history ending with the death of Socrates in 399 B.C. Topics include Athens under the tyrants, the Persian Wars, the rise of the Athenian Empire, the Peloponnesian War, and a fascinating final chapter on the "revolution of the mind" which culminated in Socrates and signaled a great change in Greek history and civilization. Ehrenberg wrote this book later in his career, so it can be seen as a summation of a lifetime of study, thought, and research. The text is littered with very precise, enlightening observationshe has a gift for distilling complicated ideas into manageable gems without trivializing or losing their core meaning. Not many historians have this talent. Ehrenberg's style is engaging and will appeal to the specialist as well as the educated general reader. Unlike so many surveys, he wisely uses endnotes rather than extensive footnotes and keeps the source references within the text to a minimum, allowing interested readers to turn to the appropriate notes on their own without disrupting the narrative for those who may not care about the scholarly arguments on particular points. This makes the book far more readable than many similar studies. Ehrenberg also peppers the text with wonderful accounts of the literature of each period discussed, showing how drama and poetry can illuminate our understanding of Greek history as a whole. This also gives the reader some relief from political and military analysis, which is sometimes a bit dry and hard to follow since the surviving evidence is often inadequate and controversial. Ehrenberg does a wonderful job of sustaining the reader's interest, and his obvious passion for his subject comes through. This book is a standard text in many British universities, and I suspect it will remain required reading for many years to come. The strength of this study, and what sets it apart from so many others, is that it is equally accessible to the general reader who may not have the benefit of regular lectures to supplement it. Ehrenberg provides here a series of his own lectures in a sense, and there are many suggestions for further reading and study. If you are looking for a good general history of this critical period in Western history, Ehrenberg's book is an excellent choice. - Aquila