Victor Davis Hanson is my favorite military author. His The Soul of Battle covers three generals who led free men and were victorious. This prompted me to track down the biography Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885-1945. George Patton was a flawed, but fascinating person. Dr. Hanson's chapter nine of Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power helped me understand some of the cultural advantages the Americans had over the Japanese in World War II.
A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War is about Sparta and its allies fighting Athenians. Before this book I knew very little about the war, other than Sparta had fought and eventually conquered Athens.
Dr. Hanson does a great job of explaining the background of the war, who the major players were, why Sparta led the attack on Athens, why the war lasted so long and why Athens finally lost.
These were two strong cities which had vastly different strengths. Sparta had the best warriors in Greece. Athens would not meet them on land. Athens dominated the ocean. Sparta did not have a fleet until Persia financed the fleet which eventually destroyed hundreds of Athenian triremes. Without their fleet to protect the food ships, Athens started to starve and eventually surrendered.
Often while reading this book I thought the Athenians were idiots. For example after years of war the majority of Athens thought it was a good idea to start another war. They launched hundreds of ships and sent 45,000 men to try to conquer Syracuse. They lost all their ships and men. This was the beginning of the end. Almost as famous as "Never get involved in a land war in Asia" is don't start a second front in a war. The Athenians were already out numbered, yet they talked themselves into attacking Syracuse. Another stupid thing was several times Sparta said we've had enough, how about we end the war, and Athens said no, we're safe behind our walls we'll keep attacking your allies from the sea.
But in fairness Sparta and their allies also made a number of blunders. Sparta started off the war by leading a large army up to Athens and dared them to come out and fight. Athens declined the opportunity for suicide, so Sparta and friends went home. The next year Sparta came back, and then went back home. And again. And again. They did they five or six times. It took Sparta a long while to realize that Athens was not going to play Sparta's game.
I greatly enjoyed the book. It was well written, well organized and thought provoking. I'm glad I read it.
If you are interesting in the history of ancient Greece, this is a good book to read.
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Technorati tags: Athens, Sparta, Peloponnesian
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