Review by Choice Review
Maverick journalist Stone offers an entertaining account of the trial of Plato's mentor. The book is provocative, in part because it blames Socrates--a "rebel against an open society and the admirer of the closed"--for the outcome of the trial. Stone contends that Socrates wanted to die, to be seen forever as the victim of the democracy he hated. Stone has done his homework prior to making these controversial claims; over the last decade he mastered the Greek language, poured over the diverse source materials in Greek, and he demonstrates here his considerable familiarity with the literature from the 6th century BCE through the 6th century CE. One of his central interests here is the degree to which the Greek language reveals in both theory and practice what we today call freedom of speech. Stressing free speech as a basic Athenian right, Stone boldly substitutes his own Socratic defense--supported by examples from the Greek theater--instead of the condescending speech reported by Plato. In the end, many readers will argue against Stone's view that Socrates did not believe in free speech for all. The author may have been more persuasive if he had consulted the secondary philosophic literature; although the notes are insightful, Stone ignores the exciting philosophical literature on Socrates published in the last two decades (with the exception of one reference to G. Vlastos). A better scholarly source would be Reginald E. Allen's Socrates and Legal Obligation (CH, Apr '81). -R. Epp, Choice
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Contemporary political commentator Stone, founder of I. F. Stone's Weekly, delves back into classical antiquity to investigate the events and issues that surrounded Socrates' trial, conviction, and death and to probe the foundations of freedom of speech that are a part of the legacy of the Greeks to Western civilization. The author uses a wonderfully lively and unpedantic approach that makes the action in Athens seem as topical as the latest scandal in Washington, D.C. As he traces historical sources and evaluates their accounts and judgments of Socrates, Stone enters into the philosophical debate on the case and advances new interpretations that make Socrates' position relevant to our time. To be indexed. JB. 183'.2 Socrates [OCLC] 87-22855
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
``The philosopher we meet on these pages is an arrogant, bullying elitist who welcomed death and did his best to antagonize the jury that sentenced him,'' stated PW. ``In this iconoclastic portrait of a secular saint, Socrates emerges as a thoroughly dislikable, albeit superior, man who upheld unpopular truths.'' (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Since his retirement in 1971, former muckraker Stone has turned classicist. He is especially fascinated by Socrates's trial because it represents a ``black mark'' for the free and democratic Athens that he admires. Stone argues that while the Athenian verdict cannot be defended, it can be understood: Socrates was an anti-democratic reactionary whose philosophy posed a genuine threat to liberal ideals. Stone's portrait of Socrates sharply contrasts with the popular hagiographies and will stimulate a wide range of readers, although specialists will find much to argue with. Recommended for general collections.Richard Hogan, Southeastern Massachusetts Univ., North Dartmouth (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
After giving up I. F. Stone's Weekly in 1971 (for health reasons), Stone set out to research a comprehensive study of freedom of thought and speech--and found the trial of Socrates (in 399 B.C.) to be a troubling landmark indeed. How could Athens, that progressive center of freedom and democracy, ""have been so untrue to itself?"" His answer--in this scholarly, somewhat revisionist essay-argument--is ""the Athenian side of the story"": a stern review of Socrates' anti-democratic record, and a portrait of a cold, willful, suicidal martyr. Working from lesser-known sources as well as Plato and Xenophon (Socrates himself wrote nothing), Stone finds ""the germ of totalitarianism"" in Socrates' advocacy of absolute rule by ""those who know how."" Socrates' concepts of virtue and knowledge ""demeaned"" the common man. His divine Delphic mission was in fact ""an exercise in self-glorification"" that undermined Athens' polis. He remained indifferent (at best) to three violent attempts (two of them successful) to set up a dictatorship. ""Socrates is revered as a non-conformist but few realize that he was a rebel against an open society and the admirer of a closed."" As for the trial itself, Stone emphasizes Socrates' ""determination to die"": he went out of his way to antagonize the jurors with the boastful arrogance called megalegoria (often mistranslated, says Stone, as ""lofty utterance""); he refused to compromise; he never used his best defense--one based on freedom-of-speech. Nonetheless, though all this helps ""to mitigate the city's crime,"" Athens was untrue to itself, Stone concludes, making Socrates--a genuinely dangerous thinker and bad influence--""the first martyr of free speech and free thought."" (By way of epilogue, however, Stone dismisses charges--primarily in E.R. Dodds' The Greeks and the Irrational--that Socrates was just one of many Athenian ""witch-hunt"" victims.) Stone's negative view of Socrates, though unusually relentless and supported by a few fresh interpretations, is hardly new. The book's many digressions--into Greek drama (tracking the free-speech theme) and etymology, for example--may exasperate some readers while charming others. Still: a strong, plainspoken, probing study, nicely balanced between common sense and very close textual analysis. (Stone's views on a range of other subjects are covered in Andrew Patner's I.F. Stone, reviewed above.) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
