The Essential Greek Historians

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"Burstein’s The Essential Greek Historians is an excellent collection of texts representing the development of historiography in the ancient Greek world. Each text is presented in an engaging and readable translation, with an insightful introduction exploring the purposes behind its composition, the significance of its contribution to the growth of historiography as a literary genre, and the context in which its author thought and wrote. These texts include not only familiar favorites like Herodotus and Thucydides, but also sources such as The Parian Marble and Memnon’s History of Heracleia, which give a broader and richer view of the ways in which Greeks engaged with history. In one economical volume, Burstein has created an indispensable introduction to the historical thought of the ancient Greeks. No student of Greek historiography should be without it." —Erik Jensen, Salem State University
Includes an introduction, maps, and selections from Herodotus' The Histories, Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, Xenophon's The Hellenica, Aristotle's The Constitution of Athens, The Parian Marble, Polybius' The Histories, Memnon's History of Heracleia, Plutarch's Life of Alexander. See the full Table of Contents on the www.hackettpublishing.com book title page. "How best to introduce students and general readers to the foundational works of ancient Greek historiography? Is it better to assign the entirety of one or two major authors, or to provide a broader sampling of excerpted material from many writers? At last, Stanley Burstein has resolved the dilemma. His new compendium, The Essential Greek Historians, offers the most effective and efficient solution so far. The key is multi-layered contextualization. The book begins with an Introduction to Greek historiography that is rich, readable, and reliable. It distills a master teacher’s lifetime of study into the one essay every student should read on the subject.
      "Each one of the eight works to be sampled here is discussed in relation to the others, taking us from Herodotus and his precursors to Plutarch. Then, each excerpt is further contextualized within its own work. Explanatory notes provide additional connective tissue, leaving readers with the sense—and satisfaction—of encountering and absorbing the entire foundational text. This book, the kind of problem-fixing tool every teacher needs today, will become required reading in ancient history courses. For those outside academia who are self-instructors in ancient studies, this is the place to begin your exploration of the ancient Greeks."
—Frank Holt, University of Houston "With The Essential Greek Historians, Stanley M. Burstein delivers an updated anthology of ancient Greek historical authors from Herodotus to Plutarch, a span of over 500 years. The selected passages are well chosen and accompanied by editorial comments from an eminent historian of the ancient world. The inclusion of some 'non-canonical' historical works (the Aristotelian Constitution of Athens, The Parian Marble, and Memnon of Heraclea) significantly broadens the scope while maintaining a focus on the Greeks' attitude toward the past. The volume will be very useful for courses in Greek history and will replace Finley's venerable anthology."
—Christopher Baron, University of Notre Dame "With up-to-date translations of a wide range of ancient historical writing and student-friendly supplementary materials, Burstein’s The Essential Greek Historians should be warmly welcomed by students and teachers alike. It is an ideal introduction to ancient Greek historiography."
—Bill Beck, Indiana University Stanley M. Burstein is Professor Emeritus of History at California State University, Los Angeles.

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