Nemesis – Alcibiades and the Fall of Athens

A very engagingly written overview of part of the Peloponnesian War, focusing on the life and deeds of Alcibiades.

I am not a trained classicist, but I read a lot. I bought the book not knowing exactly what to expect, but drawn to the title and its bold label "Nemesis." I was overwhelmed with how much I enjoyed experiencing Stuttard weave together the people and time around Alcibiades life into a coherent, compelling, and tastefully done narrative. I read this book with a mixed grasp of the major players of the time, but this book was just as informative as it was enjoyable. The literary allusions and elements that are used to punctuate the story were fantastic, and it was evident that this was not written to be dry and awful like a lot of history books are by stuffy academics trying to impress tenure track colleagues with how boring you can be while citing endless articles and other peer-reviewed sources. Stuttard writes with energy, clarity, and purpose drawing together the geopolitical and cultural forces at play in Alcibiades' dramatic life, and as a result, the drama of Alcibiades' life in the text was palpable. I cannot praise it enough for its writing and delivery of context and content. After reading it, I bought all Stuttard's other books I could find and have enjoyed reading those too. Highly recommend.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It brought Classical Athens to life in a vivid way that broader approaches sometimes fail to do. I learned a great deal about the Peloponnesian War without effortfully memorizing sequences, because the twists and turns of this one wild life illuminated the course and causes of that civil strife. Clear, intelligent writing.

I can't think of anything by David Stuttard that I haven't enjoyed reading. Quite apart from having an encyclopaedic knowledge of Classical Greek life, he's a peerless storyteller.He declared his interest in Alcibiades first in his account of the Olympics of 416 BC,  Power Games: Ritual and Rivalry at the Ancient Greek Olympics , and he returned to him for one of the potted biographies in  A History of Ancient Greece in Fifty Lives , a couple of years later. Now he expounds at greater length, revealing the stunning career of this extraordinary man in all of its dramatic excitement. And edge-of-the-seat excitement is routine for this author. As he confesses in his introduction, this is meant for the general audience. He wastes no time in revealing his tale as a ripping yarn, an approach entirely justified by the subject. The effect is riveting.While I'm no expert, it seems to me that no opportunity is missed to signpost the academic sources that could give the reader more to chew on, but that will be of little importance to most who become absorbed in this story. One of Stuttard's greatest skills is in succinctly condensing as much context as is necessary to deliver the significance of each plot turn. Where context can't be found in the existing literature, he makes a compelling case for plausible explanations that are consistent with the rest of what's known, winning our trust as deftly as did Alcibiades, first in Athens, then in Sparta, and in Asia as it became necessary.Alcibiades isn't much talked of these days. That ought to change. I wouldn't have been aware of him had I not discovered this author's interest in him. I'm glad I did. His life is recounted here with a palpable urgency, and a relish for the details that make the scenario come vividly to life.David Stuttard has always written his histories as if fit for the cinema. Whilst Alcibiades' story is rather too complex for a two-hour treatment, there are probably a couple of epic films in this book. But I'm not sure they make films like those any more.Superlative. Power Games: Ritual and Rivalry at the Ancient Greek OlympicsA History of Ancient Greece in Fifty Lives

Really enjoyed this book, Stuttard has a way of bringing such ancient history alive, could almost smell ancient Athens and hear the din of hoplite battle in the plains of Attica. I've since ordered two more of his books. Great job Dr Stuttard