Books by Polybius
“The ancient writer Polybius narrates Rome’s rise to dominance over the Mediterranean within a 53-year period, an achievement that he calls unprecedented. He is very concerned with the causes of war. He thinks that war and foreign policy events have definite causes, and he presents a method to understand those causes. For example, he sees Hannibal’s attack on Italy as caused by Hannibal’s ambitious moral character, which was incited to action by the unfair conditions imposed by Rome after the First Punic War. Now I don’t think that Polybius is right about this. “ Read more...
The best books on War and Foreign Policy
John David Lewis, Political Scientist
Interviews where books by Polybius were recommended
The Best Roman History Books, recommended by Ross King
To write The Shortest History of Ancient Rome, bestselling author Ross King returned to the primary sources and the accounts Roman and Greek historians wrote about the city’s past. He talks us through some of his favourites, from Polybius—who wrote during the heyday of the Republican era—to Cassius Dio, who penned his magnum opus as the Roman Empire was on its decline.
The best books on War and Foreign Policy, recommended by John David Lewis
Wars begin when human beings choose to fight, and, consequently, a war must be directed at the enemy’s will to fight, says John David Lewis (1955-2012), a political scientist at Duke. He chooses five books on war and foreign policy—from ancient Rome to America's neoconservatives.
