Barry looks at the recent failed missile tests by North Korea and deepens our understanding of them by an ancient Greek case study.
From Perpetual Peace to Armed Camp in the Baltic
Könisberg, Germany, where Kant dreamed of perpetual peace, is now Kaliningrad, Russia, where a major military and naval buildup is shaking the security of the Baltic — and of NATO. Barry explains how and why.
The Great Santini
The weekend brought the sad news of the passing of novelist Pat Conroy at age 70. I mourn him and send condolences to his family. His books bordered on bathos but also on poetry. I love them. They evoke a sumptuous sense of place in South Carolina. And, from the moment I first read them, they spoke to me, as …
Leap Day is for Caesar and…
Today, February 29, is Leap Day. We add it to the calendar every four years (except in years exactly divisible by 100 but not by 400 – 2000 had a leap day but 2100 will not). The purpose is to align the calendar with the earth’s revolution of the sun, which takes 365 days and 6 hours. Don’t ask …
The New York Post Reviews The Death of Caesar
“…He did not say anything about the “Ides of March,” just one difference of many between the version of Caesar’s assassination presented by William Shakespeare and the likely truth, according to Cornell University history professor Barry Strauss’ new book, “The Death of Caesar.” Strauss pored through ancient texts to determine the truest possible version of the events surrounding the assassination …
Peter Pan is a Paradox, and We’ve Misunderstood Him
Peter Pan is a Paradox, and We’ve Misunderstood Him
A French Article About My WSJ Hunger Games Piece
Hunger Games 3 : les racines greco-romaines de la franchise
Okay, So You’ve Won the Election: Now it’s Grow or Go
New Congress: The secret formula to keep midterm winners on top through 2015 and beyond
My Wall Street Journal Piece on The Hunger Games and the Classics
The Classical Roots of the Hunger Games
For Veterans Day, I link to my piece on Citizen-Soldiers
Reflections on the Citizen-Soldier