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Rating: 
Summary: Great Introduction, Not A Bad Reference Work
Review: Rose's _Handbook_ is written in narrative chapters, more or less chronological and thematic, rather than in encyclopedic form. This makes it great for a newcomer to Greek literature who needs someone to explain the background and principal players. The literary figures discussed are described in terms of their biography and also summaries of their work, in accessible and delightfully opinionated prose (Xenophon has "a mind which it would be flattery to call second-rate and a character hide-bound with convention"). Major issues (the "Homeric Question") are touched upon, and lost works are also described and named, to the extent possible. A good index means that the book can also comfortably be used as a reference work, to be consulted for information on a particular writer.
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction, Not A Bad Reference Work
Review: Rose's _Handbook_ is written in narrative chapters, more or less chronological and thematic, rather than in encyclopedic form. This makes it great for a newcomer to Greek literature who needs someone to explain the background and principal players. The literary figures discussed are described in terms of their biography and also summaries of their work, in accessible and delightfully opinionated prose (Xenophon has "a mind which it would be flattery to call second-rate and a character hide-bound with convention"). Major issues (the "Homeric Question") are touched upon, and lost works are also described and named, to the extent possible. A good index means that the book can also comfortably be used as a reference work, to be consulted for information on a particular writer.
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