Early Democracy In Action

JUDGING a book by its cover is generally frowned on, but the outside of a book can give big clues about the inside.
Thomas N Mitchell's Athens - A History Of The World's First Democracy contains some 350 closely typed pages and is exactly the sort of in-depth look that the cover, at least to me, suggests.

"Ambitious and substantial," "careful research," "inspiriting as well as invigorating," "sophisticated" - four reviews quoted on the book's back impressed me, but I could understand if other potential readers might find the praise somewhat intimidating.
The book is highbrow - a glossary of specialist terms would have made it a smoother read.
But although my favourite form of history is military, and there is not much of that in Mitchell's book, I had no trouble getting through it at a reasonable pace.
Mitchell does not hide his admiration for Athenian democracy, at least when it is guided by the likes of Pericles rather than by 'demagogues' from the mob.
Some might think Pericles' leading Athens into the Peloponnesian War - a war from which the city had little right to hope for more than a draw - deserves censure rather than implied approbation.
But while Mitchell's opinion is never in doubt, readers are provided with enough information to make up their own minds.
I very much enjoyed the book, and regard buying it for £12.99 at Blackwell's in Holborn, Central London, ahead of a flight to Germany in March when I thought I might be short of reading material, as a good decision even though I only started reading it after returning to Britain.