The Short Oxford History of Europe, Classical Greece
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loginThe problems of writing a satisfactory general history of Europe aremany, but the most intractable is clearly the reconciliation of depthwith breadth. The historian who can write with equal authority aboutevery part of the continent in all its various aspects has not yet beenborn. Two main solutions have been tried in the past: either a singlescholar has attempted to go it alone, presenting an unashamedlypersonal view of a period, or teams of specialists have been enlisted towrite what are in eVect anthologies. The Wrst oVers a coherent per-spective but unequal coverage, the second sacriWces unity for the sakeof expertise. This new series is underpinned by the belief that it is thissecond way that has the fewest disadvantages and that even those canbe diminished if not neutralized by close cooperation between theindividual contributors under the directing supervision of the vol-ume editor. All the contributors to every volume in this series haveread each other’s chapters, have met to discuss problems of overlapand omission, and have then redrafted as part of a truly collectiveexercise. To strengthen coherence further, the editor has written anintroduction and conclusion, weaving the separate strands togetherto form a single cord. In this exercise, the brevity promised by theadjective ‘short’ in the series’ title has been an asset. The need to beconcise has concentrated everyone’s minds on what really matteredin the period. No attempt has been made to cover every angle of everytopic in every country. What this volume does provide is a short butsharp and deep entry into the history of Europe in the period in allits most important aspects.
