The fall of the Athenian Empire /

This is a worthy conclusion to Kagan's great four-volume history of the Athenian Empire. The last decade of the fifth century BCE was filled with great events and personalities, and the author does them justice in his lucid narrative. Kagan (Yale) also continues his vigorous attack on Thucydides' view that the Athenian democracy snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by failing to hold to Pericles' defensive strategy at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War and to support Alcibiades consistently at the end. His critical evaluation of Alcibiades' actual performance as a military leader is totally convincing as is his refreshing insistence on the importance of the contribution made to Athens by Thrasybulus and Theramenes. Ancient names, sources, and modern scholars are indexed. A superb book that belongs in every college and university library.-S.M. Burstein, California State University, Los Angeles