He embarks on a bizarre journey, guided by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell.

'Mesmerising, surreal, this really is the work of a true original' The Times

VINTAGE JAPANESE CLASSICS series - five masterpieces of Japanese fiction in gorgeous new gift editions.

How has Greece shaped the world we live in today, and what can we learn from its history? The story of Greece is our story. Philosophy, art, democracy, language, even computers - our world has been shaped by the products of Greek civilisation. Yet most of us know little about a people and a place that have given us so much. We may be familiar with Pericles and the Parthenon, but what of Epaminondas, the Theban general who saved the Greek world from Spartan tyranny? Alexander the Great's fame has rolled down the centuries, but the glorious Hellenistic Age that came after him is largely forgotten. 'Byzantine' often conjures a vague notion of decadence and deadly intrigue, yet the 1000-year empire ruled from Constantinople saved Europe twice from invasion and was, in fact, Greek. The story of modern Greece, too, is a dramatic tale of triumph and catastrophe, from liberation and expansion through schism and home-grown dictatorship, Nazi occupation and civil war to today's nation - battered by austerity, a transit camp for the casualties of the Middle East, at the frontline of climate change - yet still proud of its values. In The Shortest History of Greece, James Heneage charts the odyssey of the Greeks through more than three millennia. As he does so, he uncovers a vital lesson - one that may just help us fix our own democracies. 'From Alpha to Omega, and from Socrates to Syriza, here is all of Greek history, expertly told.' -Tom Holland Daily Mail History Book of the Year Contents- 1. Ruling Half the World (Beginnings-1453) 2. The Longest Sleep (1453-1830) 3. The Rise and Fall of the Great Idea (1830-1949) 4. Democracy Debased (1949-present)

Details

ISBN13: 9781760643812
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 256
Edition:
Publication Date: 31 May 2022
Publisher: Black Inc.
Publication City, Country: Melbourne, Australia
Dimensions (cm): 196(H)x129(L)x20(W)240
Weight (gm): 240

Author Biography

James Heneage is the founder of the Ottakar's bookstore chain and the Chalke Valley History Festival in the UK. He is the author of The Mistra Chronicles, his quartet of historical novels set in the Byzantine era, and A World On Fire, an epic adventure set during the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s.

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