Thucydides’s History is a unique account by a contemporary of the world-changing war between Athens (and its allies) and Sparta (and its allies), that lasted from 431 to 404 BCE. Many scholars and others consider Thucydides to have been the greatest historian ever, for his impartiality, his rigorous gathering and sifting of evidence, his analysis of causes and effects, and for the objectivity and clarity of his account. Thucydides’s achievement still astonishes readers, and this translation, along with the introduction and notes by Polly Low, makes him accessible to a new generation of readers.
Reviews:
"Waterfield’s new translation … makes voices come alive in idiomatic modern English … A magnificent achievement, making ancient history live in a vernacular for our time"
- Kirkus
"Waterfield’s translation, which updates the Ancient Greek scholar’s text for the modern ear, with idiomatic English that reads less like an ornate museum showpiece and more the way it would have sounded to Thucydides’ contemporaries: clear, simple and almost as urgently relevant as it was when he wrote it"
- Colin Dwyer, npr
"Waterfield … is to be congratulated on having produced a fluent and readable translation … a Thucydides for today’s readers. … This book will help bring readers back to the classics, and few achievements by an author can be greater than that"
- Barry Strauss, The Washington Free Beacon
"The History of the Peloponnesian War isn’t easy reading; it demands patience and close attention; nonetheless, Waterfield … manages to produce lucid, straightfoward English prose, with the occasional modern flourish"
- Michael Dirda, The Washington Post
"Pride of place must go to a superb fresh translation of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War by nonpareil translator Robin Waterfield with introduction and notes by Polly Low"
- Paul Cartledge, History Today
"Waterfield … in his clear and considered translation … advances a sound and coherent interpretation of Thucydides’ complex style and ideas … sharpens our image of a Hobbesian Thucydides"
- Dominic Green, Wall Street Journal
