WARS THAT MADE THE WESTERN WORLD The Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian Wars, and the Punic Wars

Armchair warriors may be disappointed by these lectures, but the rest of us will be pleasantly surprised. Professor Shutt seems uninterested in blow-by-blow descriptions of battle scenes and intricate strategies. It's not that he can't tell a gripping war story when he has to. He just prefers explaining the context of these four ancient wars--the societies that waged them, the reasons they were waged, and the consequences for the times and subsequent generations. He has an ingratiating ad-lib manner and speaks in unambiguous, jargon-free terms, which makes him clear AND interesting. Y.R. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 05]