BOOK REVIEW

Book Review: The First Clash by Jim Lacey



Book Review: The First Clash by Jim Lacey

Thesis Statement

The battle of marathon is perhaps the most important battle of the ancient world. It preserved the world as we know it and shaped the foundations of modern democracy (Lacey, 2011).

Introduction

Marathon is one of the epic battles in the history of the world. It is a symbol of the warrior spirit, survival and bravery. On the occasion of the 2500th anniversary of the battle of Marathon, defense analyst James Lacey has not only offered a fresh appraisal of the battle, but in a larger sense demonstrated how the Athenian victory established a precedent of Western military advantage for subsequent millennia. With a fresh eye to tactics, strategy, and military organization, grounded with direct experience with troops on the battlefield, the result is not only new understanding of how the Athenians managed to win, but also a greater appreciation of the beginning of a long tradition of Western military dynamism that we take for granted today. It's a surprisingly slim volume for an exploration of one of the ancient world's most important engagements, and as a result, much of The First Clash is a build-up, a history of the rise of the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states, as well as a history of the military power that each packed in the age leading up to the battle and how events led to the pivotal clash at Marathon. The story of the actual battle, as well as its immediate aftermath, is reserved for a thin section at the tail end of the book (Lacey, 2011).

This is irritating only to the extent that it means the book doesn't live up to its subtitle: “The Miraculous Greek Victory at Marathon and Its Impact on Western Civilization.” The impact is almost too obvious to bother being explored, and as a result, Lacey's treatment of it is reserved for until the very last. What remains is a contextualizing of the battle itself. The book titled “The First Clash” takes on the fact that the battle of Marathon saved the ancient world and indeed laid down the foundations of modern democracy (Lacey, 2011).

Discussion

Marathon is inarguably among the most pivotal battles in the history of Western civilization. It's also one of the most shrouded in legends, and ancient historical mist. In The First Clash, Jim Lacey seeks not only to break down the myths and speculations surrounding the battle through a mixture of contemporary accounts and military historiography, but also to bring both sides of the battle - Greek and the Persian - into sharper focus (Lacey, 2011).

It's in that contextualization that Lacey shines, explaining how the growing might of the Persian Empire and the loose alliance of the Greeks came together, as well as how the Greek and Persian systems of government and even their fighting systems, came to bear on the process. The ancient Greeks, especially those of Archaic and Classic Greece, influenced modern Western culture more than any ...