Spartans: A Captivating Guide to the Fierce Warriors of Ancient Greece, Including Spartan Military Tactics, the Battle of Thermopylae, How Sparta Was Ruled, and More (Ancient Greek History)

If you're looking for a quick and good introduction to ancient Sparta, this is the book for you. I disagree with the last conclusion however as it contradicts what it started earlier. Nonetheless, the book remains a good assessment of Ancient Sparta. And it will get students more interested in the ancient Greece.

One of the interesting things about Sparta was that it developed from merging 4 different villages together during early Greek history. The book starts with Mycenaeans as the earliest proto- Grecian people in that area through to the period in the 300' s BCE when their power weakened. Interesting enough they were never conquered, not even by Alexander the Great. They are famous for their warrior culture and austere outlook but this book covers much more about Greek culture also. This is much different from other ancient empires at the time. This book explains much about that. Overall, it was an interesting glimpse into a world long gone and only admirable in some ways.

The information presented in the book is great. The presentation of that information is not. The writing is filled with filler words (however, therefore, at the very least, furthermore, etc.). There are times where "however" is used three times in a paragraph... How many times can you do a one-eighty on a point? It is unfortunately as if this is an undergraduate essay on Spartans rather than a meaningful resource of their history. I really wanted to like the book. I just can't get over the writing style. Unfortunately, this is likely to turn me away from other "Captivating History" titles. Which sucks because the topics look fantastic.Three stars for information and research. One star for presentation.

This book is a great 30,000 foot view of Spartan history. I learned a lot about their society and conquests.

Great read

Who were the Spartans? How did they live, and how did they grow in power, defeat the mighty Persians along with the Athenians, and then compete with Athens for hegemony? What caused their decline? All of this is revealed in this succinct book that tells the whole story in a short read. Interesting and enjoyable without being cumbersome.

As I often have said the purpose of reading a book is to acquire new knowledge of a subject. Very good detailed study of the Spartans . I knew about their prowess as a military minded society . But, one thing that stuck out to me was having a two King system of rule kinda live having checks & balances so no one side becomes the stronger & the other weaker. So much information here in all of their wars & how they held on to their lands against the Persians .Great job once again by Captivating History!

This book touches on some pretty rare subject matter but I know for damned sure that all those years of history do NOT get summed up in 98 pages. There are gaps, as well and it results in a book that has to be read in terms of minimized assumptions rather than as a full conceptual network.