Sparta

From warrior queens and the 300 to the Peloponnesian war, a major new history of the world's first superpower

There are few bits of history more mythologised, sensitive and political than Sparta, but luckily we have Bayliss

A lively and plausible history ... A considerable feat

Accessible and absorbing

Gripping

Engaging ... Bayliss provides a traditional political, military narrative, written in very readable prose, and informed by a sensitive reading of the ancient sources and a deep knowledge of modern scholarship

The story he tells ... should be required reading for leaders of modern nations

This is, without a doubt, one of the best discussions on Sparta for a general audience to be published in the last decade, maybe longer

Clear and concise ... there is something for everyone to feed their Spartan fascination

The most readable, entertaining, and informative book about the Spartans I've ever read - at once deeply researched and as punchy as the ancient Lakedaemonians themselves. Whereas most standard modern histories depict the Spartans one-dimensionally, the truth, as Andrew Bayliss shows, is far more complex and human. If you read only one nonfiction book on the ancient Spartans, make it this one

At once erudite and engaging, this book offers an excellent introduction to the ancient Spartans, who continue to fascinate and perplex modern readers

This lively and immensely readable introduction to one of antiquity's most inscrutable societies weaves ancient history with modern archaeology to penetrate the "Spartan mirage" and view with admirable clarity six centuries of Ancient Greece through Spartan eyes.

Praise for The Spartans: A new history of these extraordinary and often terrifying people, which is both scholarly and highly entertaining

A readable, informative, excellent survey

With a succinctness worthy of his subjects - whose 'linguistic austerity' inspired the word 'laconic' - Bayliss distils extensive research to offer an engaging, lucid insight into this unique society

Anyone interested in Sparta should read it, and every school library should own it

Andrew Bayliss is Associate Professor in Greek History at the University of Birmingham. He has taught and studied in Australia, Greece and the UK, and his published works on ancient Greek history include Oath and State in Ancient Greece, The Spartans and The Spartans: A Very Short Introduction.