Reviews

This work is the outgrowth of a British TV series of the same name; it is scheduled to air in the United States in August on Arts & Entertainment (A&E) cable network. Taplin (classics, Magdalen Coll., Oxford) explores the continuing impact of ancient Greece on the modern world in aesthetics, architecture, philosophy, political science, science, sexual behavior, values, attitudes toward war, and the personal quest to know oneself and confront the tragic condition of life. The ten chapters expand on themes explored in the ten segments of the series (they will be shown in five segments on A&E). Taplin is aware of the dangers of superficiality in such a sweeping undertaking, and, indeed, the chapters are uneven. But for the well-educated audience for whom the book is intended, it provides an interesting update on the influence of the Greeks. The work is nicely illustrated. There may be some demand because of the cable TV series. Recommended for academic and public libraries.-- Jeffrey R. Herold, Bucyrus P.L., Ohio