Plato and the Tyrant

“An intellectual thriller …. a deft and engaging work of history, philosophy and biography …. Romm relates this history — and introduces readers to a colorful cast of sycophantic courtiers, eccentric philosophers and defiant poets — with flair. He is an equally admirable guide to the many controversies in which the affair is mired.” – Becca Rothfeld - The Washington Post“This is a work of history, but it is as compelling as any novel… Romm does a superb job of imaginatively reconstructing the backstory to a philosophical masterpiece.” – Tim Whitmarsh - Literary Review”[A] finely sifted story …. includes abundant historical and social context …. Mr. Romm’s portrait of Plato as a scheming, often bumbling political player will be intriguingly new to most readers.” – Timothy Farrington - The Wall Street Journal

James Romm is the James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics at Bard College and editor of the Ancient Lives biography series from Yale University Press. He is the author of several other studies of Greek and Roman history, and his reviews and essays appear regularly in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Review of Books.