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How to Think about War: An Ancient Guide to Foreign Policy (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers) Hardcover – February 5, 2019

by Thucydides (Author), Johanna Hanink (Translator, Introduction)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 77 ratings
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An accessible modern translation of essential speeches from Thucydides’s History that takes readers to the heart of his profound insights on diplomacy, foreign policy, and war

Why do nations go to war? What are citizens willing to die for? What justifies foreign invasion? And does might always make right? For nearly 2,500 years, students, politicians, political thinkers, and military leaders have read the eloquent and shrewd speeches in Thucydides’s History of the Peloponnesian War for profound insights into military conflict, diplomacy, and the behavior of people and countries in times of crisis. How to Think about War presents the most influential and compelling of these speeches in an elegant new translation by classicist Johanna Hanink, accompanied by an enlightening introduction, informative headnotes, and the original Greek on facing pages. The result is an ideally accessible introduction to Thucydides’s long and challenging History.

Thucydides intended his account of the clash between classical Greece’s mightiest powers―Athens and Sparta―to be a “possession for all time.” Today, it remains a foundational work for the study not only of ancient history but also contemporary politics and international relations. How to Think about War features speeches that have earned the History its celebrated status―all of those delivered before the Athenian Assembly, as well as Pericles’s funeral oration and the notoriously ruthless “Melian Dialogue.” Organized by key debates, these complex speeches reveal the recklessness, cruelty, and realpolitik of Athenian warfighting and imperialism.

The first English-language collection of speeches from Thucydides in nearly half a century, How to Think about War takes readers straight to the heart of this timeless thinker.

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  1. Part of series
    Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers
  2. Print length
    336 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Princeton University Press
  5. Publication date
    February 5, 2019
  6. Dimensions
    4.8 x 1.3 x 7.5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0691190151
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0691190150
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"How to Think About War will have a broad appeal to academics in the fields of classics, history, and political science, as well as to professional foreign policy analysts, political thinkers, and military strategists . . . . Hanink has produced a noteworthy resource that introduces the reader to the principal debates in warfare and foreign policy, both ancient and modern."---Nicholas D. Cross, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"[In How to Think About War] we find shrewd observations on current events (in this case, the Peloponnesian War) matched with a taste for strategic prudence in dealing with adversaries. These insights illuminate some of the history that Santayana supposed we’re prone to repeat through ignorance."---Tracy Lee Simmons, City Journal

"[An] innovative translation. . . . With How to Think about War, students . . . see key speeches set chronologically and in contrast to one another, avoiding an entirely one-dimensional takeaway . . . Hanink’s translation provides a worthwhile addition to the ongoing dialogue inspired by Thucydides."---MAJ Kerney M. Perlik, US Army War College Quarterly

"[Hanink’s] vivid translations and thoughtful notes furnish a delightful entry point for one wishing to wrestle with some of the most studied, and still relevant, passages of Greek literature. [Her] rendition of Thucydides’ notoriously difficult prose is effective and will appeal to the Thucydidean neophyte."---Matthew Sears, Classical Review

Review

“This slim, elegant book punches well above its weight, with striking, lucid translations of key speeches from Thucydides’s History of the Peloponnesian War. The artfully curated ancient texts within these pages speak with prescience and complexity to the precarious moment in which we now live. Johanna Hanink’s How to Think about War is essential reading for anyone who wishes to know how great military powers fall, democracies implode, and empires end.”―Bryan Doerries, author of The Theater of War: What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today

“Hanink’s accessible translation and commentary cut an easy path through the dense Greek of the famous speeches in Thucydides’s History, avoiding the snare of reading them at face value. The result is a compelling illustration of the danger of using Thucydides to defend contemporary political decisions.”―Donna Zuckerberg, author of Not All Dead White Men: Classics and Misogyny in the Digital Age

“This invaluable collection presents the most vivid, thought-provoking, and important speeches from Thucydides’s work, which have inspired the analysis of politics, war, and international relations ever since. Johanna Hanink’s new translation makes them fully accessible to a modern audience, and her excellent notes both set them in their ancient context and draw out their significance for modern debates.”―Neville Morley, author of Classics: Why It Matters

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press; Bilingual edition (February 5, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0691190151
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691190150
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.8 x 1.3 x 7.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 77 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Thucydides

    Thucydides

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  2. Johanna Hanink

    Johanna Hanink

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    Johanna Hanink is Associate Professor of Classics at Brown University. She writes and teaches on various aspects of Greek antiquity and its legacy. Her work in Classics focuses on the literature and culture of classical Athens, while her work in Modern Greek Studies is centered on how ideas about the ancient past shape the modern world.

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
77 global ratings
Ancient wisdom and warnings for the 21st century
5 Stars
Ancient wisdom and warnings for the 21st century
"Anyone who maintains that we have nothing useful to learn from listening to speeches either lacks sense or has a secret agenda at stake." This is one of many pearls from Johanna Hanink's fantastic translation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, and it reads just as relevant today as when it was written twenty-five centuries ago.'How to Think About War' is a collection of six speeches from Thucydides' History that cover a wide range of Ancient Greek foreign policy, among them the decision to go to war, alliances, peace talks, whether or not to show mercy, changes in public opinion, the economic and emotional costs of war, and many others. The book comes with an excellent introduction that prepares readers for the text and its influence on contemporary US foreign policy—particularly Thucydides' popularity within the neoconservative moment—and each chapter opens with a brief but thorough summary that frames each passage within its historical context. I found these primers particularly interesting when reading rousing speeches for wars that ultimately ended unfavorably for the Athenians, which I imagine should give any American reader an uncomfortably sense of familiarity.The result is an excellent book easily accessible to any reader, be they students of history, politics, philosophy, Ancient Greek (the book is bilingual), or current events. Thucydides' History also provides a provocative glimpse into human behavior just as important to know outside of the classroom, as evidenced in the headlines dominating out news every day. This text is ultimately a case study on the power of speeches on a warlike population, and if the George W. Bush administration didn't demonstrate this enough for our century, I am hopeful the present administration will make it clear for all history.I most highly recommend this book and this particular edition. (I am already looking forward to reading more titles from Princeton's "Ancient Wisdom" series.) Five stars.
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Top reviews from the United States

cynthia maciejewski
5.0 out of 5 stars everyone should read!
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2023
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historial content-easy to read and understand; topics still relevant to our time. packed with good advice on aging!
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rjames
5.0 out of 5 stars A glimpse of the thought of Thucydides
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2019
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This is a short, quick introduction to a major early Western thinker. The commentary at the start of the book gives a modern context to the long-term influence of Thucydides up the present. There are fascinating remarks about how the Neocons used the approaches of Thucydides. The speech selections give a flavor of the entire History of the Peloponnesian War. The footnotes and bibliography are an enticement to further reading and study. The value of this book is an introduction, not as a comprehensive treatment.
One person found this helpful
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gustavo Inacio ferreira assis
5.0 out of 5 stars Great insights.
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2021
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This is a great introduction to the war between Sparta and Athens. And how relevant things to modern times it still is. I’ve definitely diving deeper into this subject. It’s not a surprise that it is said that our western society was based on the Greek world.
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James Wink
4.0 out of 5 stars History of the Peloponnesian War Organized
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2019
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I last read Thucydides’s History of the Peloponnesian War while working on my masters over a decade ago. Going though it in less than a week only gave a surface appreciation of one of the West’s most important histories. In the years since, I have always wanted to go reread it but never quite found the time – there have always been newer books to read. A shame – and a little embarrassing.

I recently picked up How to Think About War: An Ancient Guide to Foreign Policy – an imprint from Princeton. It doesn’t present all of the Thucydides’ landmark history but rather a selection of the most famous speeches organized by topic along with an overview of the geopolitical landscape they took place in. The book contains seven speeches around such topics as Justifying a War; Realpolik and Launching a Foreign Invasion. Each speech has a new translation. Reading through them gave me fond memories of studying for my masters and a greater appreciation of the timeless issues that still affect international relations today. The selection of speeches is impressive in a fairly small book and the new translations seem to have made them even more accessible. This book isn’t a replacement for the Landmark Thucydides – which is still the gold standard but rather an excellent companion.

Princeton has published other additional books under its Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers including How to Be A Friend: An Ancient Guide to True Friendship by Cicero. I plan on picking up some of the other books in the series.

I was skeptical but optimistic when I began How To Think About War. Too many recent international relations books are covering the current political climate and come off as screeds. How to Think About War avoids that trap and offers something that will be on my work bookshelf for decades. Highly Recommended.
18 people found this helpful
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D L Keleher, MD
5.0 out of 5 stars Classics unlimited!
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2019
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For anyone who might have studied Greek in the past and wants to recover or increase his/her knowledge, this one of a series of Greek and Latin essays with the text and facing translation, published by Princeton, will find the way made much easier and pleasant. Not so long ago at least 2 years of high school Latin was required by the best colleges for entrance; 2 years of high school Greek was desirable. I congratulate Princeton!
4 people found this helpful
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R.A. Salazar
5.0 out of 5 stars Knowledge vs Wisdom
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2021
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What is old is new again. Knowledge ages, grows old and is replaced; wisdom is eternal.
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marco fernandez
5.0 out of 5 stars un importante trabajo
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2019
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te sitúa en el concepto de la guerra y la visión de tucídides , rápidamente sin vueltas ni roscas lingüísticas. l o cual ayuda mucho a entender el autor y su propia lectura, y no las re-lecturas.
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Psychology psycho nerd
5.0 out of 5 stars Small book
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2019
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I love the series from Princeton University Press. Some pages are beside Greek original. Not all of Thucydides but just the famous parts
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