Rare Books Herodotus and Thucydides History Herodotus Peloponnesian War 1977 Britannica Great Books Series History Books for Readers Gift

This is a near fine (almost like new) hardcover. Encyclopedia Britannica 1977 21st Printing. This volume is like new inside and out. The inside pages are crisp and clean with no markings seen. The bindings are tight and straight, like new. Brown hardcover boards with blue trim and gold lettering along spine are also near fine with barely a hint of shelf wear. Medium octavo book size or 6.5" x 9.5". 615 pages including index.

Great Books of the Western World by Encyclopedia Britannica was originally published in 1952 as a 54 volume set. The idea of the series was to present great books of the western world that were relevant to contemporary matters with important historical content. They were intended to be part of a conversation about great ideas and literature. They were re-issued in 1990 in a 60 volume set with some titles added and some titles left out. The idea for the series began at the University of Chicago where a course was developed with the idea of a round table approach for reading and discussing great books. The purpose was to fill the gaps in education and afford a well-rounded intellect familiar with the great works of the Western Canon along with great ideas.

Initial reception was poor but the first sets were gifted to Queen Elizabeth ll of England and President Harry Truman. Time magazine did a piece on the set featuring Mortimer J. Adler, Editor in Chief, who was integral to the university course and the subsequent set of books. Soon, the popularity of the series soared. The series features works from ancient classics to modern masterpieces.

Thucydides book, The History of the Peloponnesian War, is recognized as a masterpiece of history. When the war broke out he was about 25 years old. As a participant he rose to rank of general but later found himself exiled from Athens due to his military failure at Amphipolis.
The book describes the disastrous struggle between Athens and Sparta for supremacy in Greece. In his chronicle, Thucydides relied on eyewitness accounts with much attention paid to details of generals, rulers and more. He tried to decipher the motives, policies and decisions that influenced the war and outlined the errors that cost Athens her defeat.

Included in this edition is The History of Herodotus which is considered a foundation work of Western Literature. Prior to this writing there were historical records and chronicles, yet this established the study of history and history genre.

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