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Summary
Summary
In this sweeping and deeply imagined historical novel, acclaimed classicist Victor Davis Hanson re-creates the battles of one of the greatest generals of ancient Greece, Epaminondas. At the Battle of Leuktra, his Thebans crushed the fearsome army of Sparta that had enslaved its neighbors for two centuries.
We follow these epic historical events through the eyes of Mêlon, a farmer who has left his fields to serve with Epaminondas-swept up, against his better judgment, in the fever to spread democracy even as he yearns to return to his pastoral hillside.
With a scholar's depth of knowledge and a novelist's vivid imagination, Hanson re-creates the ancient world down to its intimate details-from the weight of a spear in a soldier's hand to the peculiar camaraderie of a slave and master who go into battle side by side. The End of Sparta is a stirring drama and a rich, absorbing reading experience.
Praise for Victor Davis Hanson:
"I have never read another book that explains so well the truth that 'war lies in the dark hearts of us all' but that history offers hope."-William Shawcross on The Father of Us All
"Few writers cover both current events and history-and none with the brilliance and erudition of Victor Davis Hanson."-Max Boot on The Father of Us All "Enthralling."-Christopher Hitchens on The Western Way of War
Author Notes
Victor Davis Hanson is the military historian who is a professor of classics at California State University, Fresno. He has written several popular books on classic warfare, including "The Other Greeks", "Who Killed Homer?", & "The Western Way of War". He lives in Selma, California.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Leading classicist Hanson (The Father of Us All) focuses on the Theban defeat of the renowned Spartan army in 371 B.C.E. The hero of the tale is the Theban general Epaminondas, a devotee of Pythagoras and a warrior with unconventional attitudes about warfare, life, and death. His unexpected choices-not to mention the Spartan underestimation of the Theban "pigs"-allow the Thebans to fulfill the prophecies of Sparta's downfall, many of which focus on the farmer Melon (meaning "apple"), whose journey from reluctant soldier to enthusiastic liberator gives the novel its emotional heart. Battle scenes are conveyed in exacting detail; a glossary of names and numerous line diagrams help readers differentiate characters and envisage the sites of central dramas. Told in a somewhat elevated style that simultaneously honors and updates the rhetorical heights of classic Greek histories, Hanson's novel is both old-fashioned and lively. Given his notable body of work, it's no wonder that his first fiction effort is rich in authentic detail and narrated with a confident authorial voice. His vigorous narrative not only offers insight into arms and armor, but also into the hearts of the men who bore them. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
The history of the Theban general Epaminondas and the liberation of 100,000 Messenian helots (slaves) in 369 B.C.E. is often overlooked. Athens and Sparta were the great powers of their day-Athens for its center of learning and democracy and Sparta for its military prowess. Thebes, on the other hand, was an agrarian state, the breadbasket of Greece, and as such was disdained by its southern neighbors. Making his fiction debut, historian Hanson, praised for his in-depth analyses of the early history of the Greek city-states in The Father of Us All and A War Like No Other, tells the story of Epaminondas and the fall of Sparta at the Battle of Leuktra through the eyes of Melon, a farmer-turned--soldier. VERDICT Hanson suffers a bit from first-novelitis. While he excels at depicting battle strategies and ancient armaments, his characters are less well developed-their motives and passions not fully revealed. Stilted dialog fails to advance the plot. However, for readers who enjoy works set in this time period, such as Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire (Sparta) and Tides of War (Athens), this may be a welcome look at a less-well-known Greek city-state.-Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage P.L., AK (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.