The most influential ancient historian of our time. . . Indisputably the most valuable writing on ancient history since 1945. 'New York Review of Books'. Few writers have taught us more about the ancient world than M. I finley. This provocative and wide-ranging collection of his essays contains illuminating discussions of some major issues- the nature of the Spartan state, the development of Greek law, mythological thinking in the Greek historians, utopian ideas old and new. Yet Finley's immense and detailed knowledge of ...
Read More
The most influential ancient historian of our time. . . Indisputably the most valuable writing on ancient history since 1945. 'New York Review of Books'. Few writers have taught us more about the ancient world than M. I finley. This provocative and wide-ranging collection of his essays contains illuminating discussions of some major issues- the nature of the Spartan state, the development of Greek law, mythological thinking in the Greek historians, utopian ideas old and new. Yet Finley's immense and detailed knowledge of ancient societies is matched by his equally challenging insights into far larger topics of historical technique (can archaeology and anthropology really teach us much about ancient history?), the dangers of easy generalizations (was there ever really a Greek nation?) and the ways in which we all use the past to deal with our present problems (why have political activists from Isocrates to Edmund Burke and F. D. Roosevelt all preached a return to some kind of 'ancestral constitution?) The final chapter considers the boldest question of all- what the classical tradition still has to offer and why it is still worth studying history and the ancient world.
Read Less
Add this copy of The Use and Abuse of History to cart. $43.98, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1991 by Penguin Books.
Add this copy of The Use and Abuse of History to cart. $44.79, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1987 by Penguin.
Add this copy of The Use and Abuse of History to cart. $55.12, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Random House.
Add this copy of The Use and Abuse of History to cart. $82.15, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1987 by Penguin.