The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece -- And Western Civilization

This book highlights one of the most important turning point battles in all of human history, the battle of Salamis. The reader will be especially interested in this epic tale if he ponders such historical "what if" questions (eg what if Stonewall Jackson wasn't shot and helped Lee win at Gettsburg?, what if the Axis developed the Bomb first?, what if the Muslim invasion wasn't turned back at Tours?, etc, etc.) Don't be fooled, Strauss does none of this speculation, yet gives the intelligent reader enough to ponder to do it own his own. Salamis, as the reader learns, deserves a place at the table of such historical events. The Persians in 480 BC were poised to destroy the Greek culture and with it western civilization in its infancy. They assembled a virtual untouchable land army and had a navy of unprecedented size. The Greeks, however, were actually the unorganized band of backwater militia for whom victory seems unlikely. If the Persians win, do they take the Pelopenese? Italy? No Pericles? Aristotle? Plato? Alexander? Foundations of democracy? Would Christianity have spread with the acceleration it did without the ball bearings of a dominant Greek culture in the region? Strauss does an excellent job narrating the events and especially analyzing the battle -- why exactly did the Persians not win? Such analysis is rare, especially of ancient history. Strauss draws mostly, of course, from Herodotus, a source whom historians will argue the veracity of, but if not him, who? The maps were well drawn, easy to interpret and placed at locations in the book where the reader begins to wonder "Where was that place again?" -- Aha! a map! So next time you and your buddies sit down for a cold round of drinks, throw one back for ole Themistocles, who arguably did more to advance (save) western civilization than others who have received far more credit! Highly recommended for the casual, yet serious student of history. An easy read and not so long it takes the reader with a job months to get through! D. Murrell

Barry Strauss has written one of the best books of 2004. If history can be seen as a teacher for the present, this is it. With a solid and clear understanding of ancient Greek civilization, warfare and naval history, he brings the battle of Salamis alive in the context of the Greco-Persian War of 480-479 B.C. He does it not just with outstanding scholarship, but with a talented literary skill that gives a true human meaning to characters, events and the myriad of all those little and not well-known details that are History's real substance. It's fascinating how he starts each chapter trying to see the events through the eyes of Herodotus, or Themistocles, or Xerxes, or Artemisia, or one of the lesser known but equally interesting characters of that thrilling and trying time. You read "The Battle of Salamis" almost as a riveting novel, with the plus of its historical accuracy. It's just captivating. I sincerely believe it could be a very good candidate for the next Pulitzer Prize on Nonfiction. This is the story of Athens, the world's first democracy, in a time of war, bitterly divided, with no certain allies, standing up against the powerful mosaic of the Persian empire forces and getting a brilliant but unexpected victory that paved the way for the Age of Pericles and the Western Civilization. Reading it in the troubled world of our days helps to get things in perspective. Who says classic history is boring? Get this book: you'll find a precise combination of historical expertise and gifted storytelling.

Strauss has written an excellent narrative of this pivotally important battle. He provides background to the battle, including overviews of Artemisium and Thermopylae, and carefully outlines the competing Greek and Persian strategies that produced the huge naval clash at Salamis. He then chronicles the aftermath, including the Persians' eventual retreat. The story is driven by characters, which Strauss wonderfully describes at the opening of each chapter and follows through the work. Herodotus, since he is the basic source for the Persian Wars, receives nice treatment in the Prologue. After that, people such as Xerxes, Artemisia, and, of course, Themistocles are vividly described. Themistocles looms large, as well he should, given his role in precipitating the battle; without that cunning Greek and his ruse, bordering on treason, it's safe to say the battle never would have happened and perhaps a different fate might have befallen the Western world. And this points to the work's single weakness. While Strauss makes a convincing case for Themistocles' critical role in forcing the battle, he doesn't really make good on the part of the title that says it saved civilization. But I'll attribute that to marketing-savvy editors and praise Strauss's work without reservation, for all in all, considering the dearth of sources, he has given us a truly excellent, not to mention vivid, account of the battle of Salamis.

Barry Strauss' narrative of this complex ancient naval battle brings the story to life with rich details and a readable, popular narrative style. I found the book fascinating and learned a great deal about the Greeks and Persians -- not just the dry history one reads in text books, but a host of details from the revenge of a eunich to the wardrobe of the first female admiral ever. I highly recommend this book not only to history and war buffs but also to the general reader who likes adventure and lively prose

The Battle of Salamis describes the fateful naval battle between Greece and the Persian Empire in the year 480 BC - a pivotal event that determined the trajectory of western democracy. Persia had numerical superiority; Greece had cunning. Persia was a master of land-based warfare; Greece waged naval guerilla warfare. Each side knew the future of the world was in the hands of the winner. Barry Strauss is a master storyteller who brings to life not only the events of the time and their antecedents, but also a host of memorable characters: the brilliant but unscrupulous Greek commander Themistocles; the infantry-centric Persian King Xerxes who failed to understand naval guerilla warfare; the cunning Artemisia, the first female admiral in history; the vengeful Persian eunuch Hermotimus; the Athenian playwright Aeschylus, who participated in the battle; the Spartan admiral Eurybiades, who had to maintain the fractured Greek coalition in the heat of battle... and many, many more. The battle of Salamis involved approximately 300,000 sailors, marines, soldiers, and refugees -- the equivalent of 20 million people in today's terms - from Europe, Asia and Africa. It included some of the cleverest tricks in the history of war, with many lessons for today's readers. The author does a masterful job of storytelling with a solid basis in research, including archaeology, meteorology, forensic anthropology and previously overlooked literary sources. He adds to this his own knowledge of rowing. The result is a meticulously researched page-turner - the author imparts the sights, sounds, and even smells of an ancient time, ancient cultures, and an ancient naval battle that imparts important lessons for today's turbulent world.