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The Complete Histories of Polybius Paperback – January 1, 2009
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length606 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDigireads.Com
- Publication dateJanuary 1, 2009
- Dimensions6 x 1.35 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101420934236
- ISBN-13978-1420934236
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Product details
- Publisher : Digireads.Com (January 1, 2009)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 606 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1420934236
- ISBN-13 : 978-1420934236
- Item Weight : 1.93 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.35 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #529,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #870 in Ancient Roman History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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He does a good job of tying in events that took place over a period of time in different places and explaining
how and why the Romans embarked on certain wars and ventures.
I also found that other than the Roman history there was a great deal of history that had to
do with the warring Greek city-states. Way too much detail for me.... since my interest is mainly the Roman part I found this tedious and therefore skipped those many parts.
His work focuses on the period from 264-145 B.C., or, the period of the Punic Wars. He describes his book as a "universal history", meaning he gives the histories of all major powers at the time: Rome, Carthage, Macedonia, Greece, the Ptolemies, the Seleucids, and other lesser nations. If there is a theme to this work, it's the rise of the Roman Republic. When the book starts, Rome is a provincial power in Italy, a semi-barbaric place; when the book ends, Rome possesses most of the known world and exercises hegemony over the rest. But since the work is universal, it's a history of all the countries at the time, and how they inevitably come into relations with Rome.
Polybius' goal was to instruct his readers, as well as inform and entertain. He gives detailed accounts of events and emphasizes cause-and-effect. He wants the reader to know why and how things happen, so that they have examples of what to emulate and what to avoid. There is a touch of Machiavelli in this book. And as you see the years and generations go by, you see young men become old, nations rise or fall, ambitious men fail or succeed, and all kinds of examples of fate mixed with human decisions.
There are several digressions in the book, on topics of geography, historiography, virtue and vice, political science, military science, and other related fields. The professional word for these chapters is "digression", but I think it's more appropriate to call them "additions". Polybius himself is level-headed, if nothing else. He is always calm, dignified, and seems like a cool guy overall. He was loved by the Greeks as a politician, and you can sometimes sense that this book is written by a classical leader of men.
This is one of the Classics, and there is much to gain from reading it. Some of the modern world's greatest leaders, including America's founding fathers, have looked to this book for guidance. Or if you just want to learn how Rome became so powerful, it's good for that too. :)