Author:Edith Hall
They gave us democracy, philosophy, poetry, rational science, the joke. They built the Parthenon and the Library of Alexandria. They wrote the timeless myths of Odysseus and Oedipus, and the histories of Leonidas’s three hundred Spartans and Alexander the Great.
But who were the ancient Greeks? And what was it that enabled them to achieve so much?
Here, Edith Hall gives us a revelatory way of viewing this geographically scattered people, visiting different communities at various key moments during twenty centuries of ancient history.
Identifying ten unique traits central to the widespread ancient Greeks, Hall unveils a civilization of incomparable richness and a people of astounding complexity – and explains how they made us who we are today.
‘A thoroughly readable and illuminating account of this fascinating people… This excellent book makes us admire and like the ancient Greeks equally’
Independent
‘A worthy and lively introduction to one of the two groups of ancient peoples who really formed the western world’
Sunday Times
‘Throughout, Hall exemplifies her subjects’ spirit of inquiry, their originality and their open-mindedness’
Daily Telegraph
‘A book that is both erudite and splendidly entertaining’
Financial Times
Hall examines in scholarly but very readable detail.
—— Simon Shaw , Mail on SundayHall’s superb history achieves her aim with a happy marrying of literature and archaeology.
—— Lesley McDowell , IndependentIf you’re interested in their history then it is worth reading, and I think even those with some knowledge of the Greeks would learn something from this book.
—— Judith Griffith , NudgeTerrifically good
—— Natalie Haynes , Observer[Hall] provides a thoroughly readable and illuminating account of this fascinating people… This excellent book makes us admire and like the ancient Greeks equally
—— John Davie , IndependentA worthy and lively introduction to one of the two groups of ancient peoples who really formed the western world
—— Christopher Hart , Sunday TimesThis new tome serves as a fantastic general introduction
—— Big IssueEdith Hall has a brilliant ability to intellectually analyse the Greeks… because of deep, searching curiosity, and her sense of how this culture reflects upon our moment now. Her writing is so clear and accessible… full of complex reflections and revelations
—— Ian RicksonWide-ranging and endlessly fascinating… It is a fitting tribute to history that ought to be preserved… because it would, at the very least, enrich our conversation and range of comparison with events today
—— Daisy Dunn , StandpointThis crisp little book is also worth reading for Hall’s elegant prose
—— Suzi Feay , Financial TimesThroughout, Hall exemplifies her subjects’ spirit of inquiry, their originality and their open-mindedness… And in doing that…she reminds us of how civilizing and humanizing a study of the ancients can be
—— Daily TelegraphA fascinating read, delightfully illustrated with unusual and exquisite drawings
—— Michael Scott , BBC History MagazineGroundbreaking ... acutely identifies and brilliantly explores ten defining qualities that together explain why we simply cannot do without the ancient Greeks
—— Professor Paul Cartledge, University of Cambridge21st-century readers eager to understand the glorious contributions of the ancient Greeks have their own ideal escort in Edith Hall
—— Adrienne Mayor , Literary ReviewAn intriguing and rewarding journey through 2000 years of Greek history
—— Good Book GuideA book that is both erudite and splendidly entertaining
—— Tony Barber , Financial TimesArguably the most important story of the war
—— Michael Hodges , Mail on SundayAs a travel writer, Butcher takes some beating. He packs balls as well as ballpoints
—— John Lewis-Stempel , Sunday ExpressA triumph of storytelling... [A] highly original gem of a book
—— Victor Sebestyen , SpectatorInformative and powerful
—— John Horne , Irish TimesA page-turning exploration of how the forgotten past continues to inform the present... Important, and relevant
—— Oliver Poole , Independent on Sunday[Princip’s] story as Butcher now tells it has a resonance far beyond the Balkans
—— Iain Morris , ObserverElegant, horrifying and enlightening… A book which is not only a good piece of detective work, it is the finest contribution so far this year to the rapidly expanding literature on the Great War
—— Mark Smith , HeraldTim Butcher has produced the most imaginative and singular book on the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War to date. It is a lot more than a study of Princip… It is a piece of expeditionary journalism, an investigation in time, place and spirit, of the highest order
—— Robert Fox , ScotsmanA revealing insight into the mind and journey of the boy who escaped the narrow confines of his village, and whose political aspirations for his native country had such far-reaching effects on the world
—— Philippa Logan , Oxford TimesUtterly absorbing… If journalism is the first draft of history, Butcher marries both disciplines with boldness and originality – as well as sympathy for his shadowy subject
—— BBC History MagazineInsightful and entertaining, this blows the cobwebs off the history of that day
—— Evening Echo (Cork)Positive proof that fact can be as gripping as fiction…rich and timely… Amongst so many books published around the anniversary of the First World War, this one stands out
—— CGA MagazineA fascinating investigation… An absorbing read
—— Irish IndependentDespite its serious subject matter, the book is a rollicking read, full of amusing details and sarcastic humour
—— The EconomistA brilliant and haunting journey through the Balkans
—— Sinclair McKay , Daily TelegraphIn the centenary year of the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, what better read than Tim Butcher’s The Trigger
—— Paul Routledge , Tablet[A] fascinating and lively history
—— 4 stars , Daily TelegraphVery complex – but you will grasp it
—— William Leith , Evening StandardA fascination exploration
—— Mail on SundayHighly readable but profoundly researched, The Trigger represents a bold exception to the deluge of First World War books devoted to mud, blood and poetry
—— Ben Macintyre , The Timesa fascinating original portrait of a man and his country
—— Country and Town House