Why people recommend it
History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides is a foundational historical account detailing the ancient conflict between Athens and Sparta and analyzing the underlying causes of war. Hussein Agha recommended a rereading of the classic text on The Ezra Klein Show, asserting that it accurately explains many of the complex geopolitical processes taking place in modern times. On The Daily Stoic, Timothy Denevi shared that the work is one of his personal favorite books, recalling how he translated portions of it during his high school days in California. In the same conversation, Ryan Holiday discussed the book in relation to military strategy, mentioning that former Secretary of Defense General Mattis famously assigned it to subordinates. Holiday also referenced the famous Melian dialogue passage from the text and noted how it is frequently cited to help understand contemporary geopolitical tensions, such as the strategic jostling between the United States and China. Furthermore, Holiday observed that dense historical and philosophical texts of this nature often require careful introductory study to fully grasp their profound insights into human nature, power dynamics, and the perennial causes of international conflict.
Who recommended it
- Ryan Holiday Discussed
- Hussein Agha Recommended
- Timothy Denevi Discussed
Ryan Holiday — 3 mentions
“when uh General Mattis was Secretary of Defense he assigned a history of the Peloponnesian War as a book for people to read”
“I'm just writing about this in uh the book I'm doing now the the was it the melan dialogue or milon dialogue like the most famous passage in the the history of the pelian war”
“i find this particularly true for like philosophy or if i'm trying to read some like greek play or like let's say someone you know hears that you know history of the peloponnesian war might help you understand the the the jostling between the united states and china”
Hussein Agha — 1 mention
“So therefore I'm going to suggest a rereading of tusidits the pelponyian wars that explain to you really very accurately very much of the processes that are taking place now.”
Timothy Denevi — 1 mention
“I was walking through your bookstore and I saw the pelian war you know one of my favorite books”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 1
“Okay, he's claimed by the gay community in some books I've read. Right, but he never procreated.”