On a late September day in 480 B.C.; Greek warships faced an invading Persian armada in the narrow Salamis Straits in the most important naval battle of the ancient world. Overwhelmingly outnumbered by the enemy; the Greeks triumphed through a combination of strategy and deception. More than two millennia after it occurred; the clash between the Greeks and Persians at Salamis remains one of the most tactically brilliant battles ever fought. The Greek victory changed the course of western history -- halting the advance of the Persian Empire and setting the stage for the Golden Age of Athens. In this dramatic new narrative account; historian and classicist Barry Strauss brings this landmark battle to life. He introduces us to the unforgettable characters whose decisions altered history: Themistocles; Athens' great leader (and admiral of its fleet); who devised the ingenious strategy that effectively destroyed the Persian navy in one day; Xerxes; the Persian king who fought bravely but who ultimately did not understand the sea; Aeschylus; the playwright who served in the battle and later wrote about it; and Artemisia; the only woman commander known from antiquity; who turned defeat into personal triumph. Filled with the sights; sounds; and scent of battle; The Battle of Salamis is a stirring work of history.
#1229074 in Books Rowman Littlefield Publishers 2008-02-28Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.05 x .67 x 6.05l; .88 #File Name: 0742559815248 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Well written; intentionally brief survey of the Battle of GettysburgBy Tom FentonIn "Beneath A Northern Sky..." Steven E. Woodworth accomplished what he set out to do as described in his preface: "provide a short survey of the three day Gettysburg battle". And he did it with an entertaining style. I found "Beneath A Northern Sky..." to be well written; contain good analysis; and to include excellent and helpful maps and photographs. The maps were; I thought; well organized; showing battle lines and locations at differing stages of the conflict and placed at appropriate points within the narrative. Having read several excellent detailed presentations of this important battle; I found Woodworth's work to be refreshingly simple; yet still containing some of the newer facts and findings of more recent scholarship. These were mixed with older scholarship and included some of the more interesting side stories that have come down to us courtesy of other excellent historians.Some may be annoyed at the brevity of this work; but I appreciated the low key; relaxed (as relaxed as any description of the extreme horrors of war can be) overview. Gettysburg is; as Woodworth admitted; an extremely often studied event. Sometimes it is possible to get so buried in details that we miss the real story. We can get so blinded by the forest that we don't see the trees; or the clearings within that forest; or the flowers hidden beneath the canopy. On the other hand; we can also get so involved in every detail hidden beneath the canopy that we fail to see the big picture. Woodworth shows us the big picture; and does so very handily. The horrors of war are there. The human tragedy is there. The injustice is there. Yet; also; the overall purpose and aim is there; as well. I might say to anyone disappointed that the key to avoiding disappointment can be as simple as reading the title; "...a SHORT history..." Or; perhaps one might also start by reading the preface; "...to bring together and synthesize this large body of research into a single fast-paced; yet comprehensive; narrative that will be useful to those who are just embarking on their study of Gettysburg as well as to those more experienced students who desire a summary overview of the recent scholarship." Woodworth told us twice what he was doing. How can anyone complain when he does exactly what he said he intended to do? Not me. As I said; I enjoyed the relaxation of this well written overview; after reading a book by William Marvel; entitled "Mr Lincoln's War" which set my teeth on edge with every turn of a page. Still; Marvel did what he said he was going to do; and I gave him five stars for doing it very well. (Marvel is a leading `contrarian" historian who blames the entire war on Lincoln.) A third way to avoid disappointment is to see how many pages the book has. If it has only 241 pages including the index; and you want details; forget it. Find one with over 500 pages and you will get all the details you want.There is one more thing about Woodworth's "Beneath A Northern Sky..." that needs to be said. The author ended his work with a top notch conclusion that ties much of the story together.If you want a good short summary; this one is very well done. If; however; you want details; count pages; read the title and the preface and see what is promised.Five stars for Mr. Woodworth's well written overview.8 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Short and to the Point; but. . . .By Steven PetersonIf you really want to know about the Battle of Gettysburg; pick the following authors: Trudeau; Coddington; and Sears--not Woodworth. They provide much more detail of the battle and give a much more complex perspective.However; for those readers who want a short and to the point introduction to the battle; this book serves a useful purpose. Its brevity serves a positive function--even as it means that this cannot be a definitive book on the great battle. Key issues are described; the author writes well. There is not a whole lot here that is new; the standard anecdotes are retold--albeit nicely.Still; for the Civil War novice who would like an accessible and easy read on Gettysburg; this book can do the trick.8 of 13 people found the following review helpful. DisappointingBy D. CravenBeneath a Northern Sky was disappointing. While it is certainly very hard to write anything new about the Gettysburg Campaign; this book seemed to go out of its way to repeat every "strange coincidence" or "old Chestnut" about the battle. Almost every story told in the book was one I had learned in 1965 when I became a very precocious expert on the Civil War. Ginny Wade being shot just after learning that her fiancee had been killed; Culp coming home to die on Culp Hill; Col O'Rourke's comments before helping to save little round top; the Church Service for the Irish Brigade; the old Chestnut that most of the Union Generals were incompetent... and so forth.It also had other problems... brought about I suspect by a desire to keep the book short. For example; in the last few pages its lists many of the "arguments" raised for the South's problems as the "death" of Conf. General Pender. And in fact; Pender did die of his wounds several days after the battle. But you wouldn't know it from THIS book. It mentions that he was wounded; and then the next time he is mentioned is as "dead" in the assessment of the battle. It would have only taken a line or two to mention that Pender received wounds which resulted in his death on July 18th -- and it would have made things clearer.I would recomend; instead; reading Noah Trudeau's Gettysburg: A Test of Courage; which I found to be more readable and with less omissions.
