Donald Kagan 
Archidamian War [PDF ebook] 

"The Archidamian War remains sober, judicious, and comprehensive. There is nothing else like it available in English-certainly nothing that takes all the modern scholarship into account…. But perhaps the most valuable achievement of the book is its carefully reasoned demolition of Thucydidess view-warmly embraced by too many scholars-that Pericless war strategy was justifiable."- Peter Green – Times Literary Supplement This book, the second volume in Donald Kagans tetralogy about the Peloponnesian War, is a provocative and tightly argued history of the first ten years of the war. Taking a chronological approach that allows him to present at each stage the choices that were open to both sides in the conflict, Kagan focuses on political, economic, diplomatic, and military developments. He evaluates the strategies used by both sides and reconsiders the roles played by several key individuals.