[An] invaluable history of a foundational civilization . . . combining impressive scholarship with involving narration.”—Booklist
 
“Compelling . . . a comprehensive and entertaining account of one of the most transformative societies in Western history . . . Everitt recounts the high points of Greek history with flair and aplomb.”—Shelf Awareness
 
“Highly readable . . . Everitt keeps the action moving.”—Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Anthony Everitt’s The Rise of Rome
 
“Rome’s history abounds with remarkable figures. . . . Everitt writes for the informed and the uninformed general reader alike, in a brisk, conversational style, with a modern attitude of skepticism and realism.”—The Dallas Morning News
 
“[A] lively and readable account . . . Roman history has an uncanny ability to resonate with contemporary events.”—Maclean’s
 
“Elegant, swift and faultless as an introduction to his subject.”—The Spectator
 
“An engrossing history of a relentlessly pugnacious city’s 500-year rise to empire.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Fascinating history and a great read.”—Chicago Sun-Times

★ 03/15/2017
Everitt, a renowned scholar of British and European culture, has turned to those contentious ancient Athenians who gave us democracy for his ninth book (The Rise of Rome; Augustus; Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome). Everitt writes this popular history about the rise of Athens in a narrative style meant for the reader to experience the events as did the Athenians and Greeks who lived through them. The style is entertaining and informative. The book can be appreciated by those with little knowledge of ancient Athens and those who would like a refresher. Michael Page, AudioFile Earphones winner, gives a formal and precise delivery appropriate to the material. VERDICT This excellent overview of the history of ancient Greece would be a solid addition to most library collections. ["Everitt has a gift for making ancient history accessible": LJ 9/15/16 starred review of the Random hc.]—Cynthia Jensen, Plano P.L. Syst., TX

★ 11/15/2016
Everitt (Augustus; The Rise of Rome) has created another engaging, readable, and informative narrative about classical antiquity. This history of Athens begins with the stories of Homer and Theseus, where history and myth provide the framework of early Greek identity. Then Everitt maneuvers into the more reliably documented past of classical Greece, illuminated by Greek historians Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon. The book finishes with the decline of classical Athens and the rise of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE. Readers gain an appreciation of the cultural and political differences among the major players in the classical world, including the Athenians, Spartans, and Persians. Everitt explains how democracy grew out of the various political factions in Athens, detailing the struggles between the aristocracy and the people, the reforms of tyrants Solon and Pisistratus, and the enlightenment of the Pericles era. Readers will also discover (or rediscover) the wonder of the Parthenon, the flowering of Athenian direct democracy, and the sophisticated philosophy of Plato, as well as Greek words such as polis and ecclesia. VERDICT Everitt has a gift for making ancient history accessible. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in world history, Western civilization, philosophy, or political science.—Jeffrey Meyer, Mt. Pleasant P.L., IA

Narrator Michael Page renders Everitt’s popular history of ancient Athens and the larger Greek world with fidelity both to the text’s overt and implied meanings. His voice often sounds somewhat strained, but is still serviceable and expressive, even likable. He moves briskly and accurately, drawing listeners along. He fits inflection and emphasis to meaning with intelligence, at the same time matching his tone to the underlying sense and implications of the text, enhancing its significance without drawing attention to the reading itself. He expresses both the author’s ironic disapproval and moral concern regarding the Greeks’ self-destructive behavior and failings, as well as his admiration for their achievements. W.M. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

2016-09-26
A thick, lively popular history that tells a complex story without dumbing it down or devoting more than a modest effort to distinguishing fact from myth.All ancient histories begin with prehistory, and veteran British historian Everitt (The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World’s Greatest Empire, 2012, etc.) describes the Homeric age before 1000 B.C.E. as Greeks themselves viewed it, an ingenious approach that emphasizes the many differences between ancient cultures and modern societies. The heroes of the Iliad were a surly, murderous lot. Lovers of Mary Renault’s classic The King Must Die (1958) may not welcome news that Theseus, the mythical founder of Athens, raped any woman that took his fancy. After a dark age, classic Athens emerged around 700 B.C.E., a turbulent city riven by conflicts between the rich and the poor. The vaunted democracy that emerged after 600 B.C.E. inspired America’s Founding Fathers but also taught them what to avoid. Every male citizen gathered and voted, so it often resembled mob rule. An aggressive aristocratic class remained, and charismatic leaders became populist dictators. Yet it worked. Athens prospered and dominated other cities for two centuries until it tangled with rival city-state Sparta in 434 B.C.E. and lost. After 400 B.C.E. Athens declined into a more modest town, but its intellectual heritage—Socrates, Plato, Euripides, Aristotle, Archimedes, etc.—carried through its fourth-century conqueror, Macedonia, second-century conqueror, Rome, and, subsequently, the Western world. Though dense with incident, the narrative is highly readable, and the glossary and timeline are helpful additions. Nearly 500 pages of names, plots, betrayals, battles, and murders may be more than some readers want to know about ancient Greece, but Everitt keeps the action moving, making this a worthy alternative to the classic doorstop, Will Durant’s The Life of Greece (1939).