Xerxes

Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 346K words
Chapters: 35

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Xerxes by Jacob AbbottAuthor: Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879,Language: English, Class: DS: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Asia, Release Date: May 6, 2008

Editor's review

This book is a historical biography by Jacob Abbott. Written in an accessible narrative style, it recounts the life and times of the Persian king Xerxes and belongs to the genre of classical history written for general readers. Abbott excels at turning grand historical events into a coherent personal story; his prose is clear and evenly paced, avoiding tedious source criticism and focusing instead on character and the sequence of events. For readers seeking a first acquaintance with the Persian Empire and its conflicts with the Greek world, this book offers a low-threshold entry point; for scholarly readers, it is better suited as supplementary background reading than as an academic citation source. This edition is a public-domain English eBook from Project Gutenberg, convenient for reading on electronic devices at any time. While reading, consult maps and a basic chronology of the Greco-Persian Wars to establish a geographical and temporal framework; you may also compare relevant chapters of Herodotus's Histories to appreciate the differences between later popular history writing and classical sources.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers new to history interested in the Persian Empire and the ancient Greek world
Readers who enjoy biographical narrative and want an easy introduction to ancient monarchs
Students and teachers needing public-domain English historical material for background reading
Readers who prefer eBooks and want free English history books

Not a good fit for

Professional researchers requiring rigorous scholarly citation and the latest archaeological findings
Readers who prefer reading in Chinese and do not wish to read the English original
Readers expecting in-depth institutional history or socioeconomic analysis

Reading tips

First consult a basic chronology of the Persian Empire and the Greco-Persian Wars, then begin the main text.
While reading, mark march routes and major battle sites on a map.
Read alongside relevant chapters of Herodotus's Histories and compare the differences in narrative.
After each chapter, summarize the events and characters' motives in a few sentences for easier review.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?

This is a public-domain English eBook released by Project Gutenberg. The main text is in English and suits readers with some English reading ability. If your English is limited, you may first read a Chinese-language introduction to Persian history before attempting this book.

What historical background is needed before reading?

No specialized background is required, but it is advisable to first learn the general extent of the Persian Empire, the basic course of the Greco-Persian Wars, and the layout of the Greek city-states at the time. With this framework in place, the characters and events in the book will be easier to follow, and you will be less likely to lose track amid unfamiliar place names and personal names.

Is this book suitable for academic citation?

Not really. It is a popular historical narrative for general readers, written in an earlier era and not based on strict annotation or the latest research. Academic writing should cite professional historical works and primary sources; this book is better used as supplementary material for leisure reading or background knowledge.

Any practical advice for reading the electronic edition?

Use reading software that supports dictionary lookup and bookmarks, and mark place names and personal names as you go; keep a map or chronology open alongside for reference. As a public-domain eBook, its formatting may be plain; reading chapter by chapter and taking brief notes will work better.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879 Author

Jacob Abbott (1803–1879) was an American author and educator best known for his historical and biographical works. The library holds 51 of his works, including Darius the Great, History of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, History of Julius Caesar, Richard II, Cyrus the Great, Pyrrhus, Cleopatra, and Peter the Great. Writing for young readers, he wove individual lives into the broader context of their times, narrating the rise and fall of rulers and figures in clear, accessible prose that made history both readable and instructive. His historical biographies circulated widely and helped popularize history reading. Public information on the details of his life is limited, so this profile focuses on the subjects and style of his works.