Review by iknwuzoh -- The Fox by M. N. J. Butler

[iknwuzoh]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Fox" by M. N. J. Butler.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Fox by M.N.J Butler is a book of history, of the military society of Sparta. Sparta had certain traditions that govern how they live. Leotychides was a major character in this book, with his quest for power for Sparta. He was the son of King Agis II of Sparta. Agesipolis was among the main characters here. Leotychides was the narrator in this book. He talks about growing up in Sparta, and how it was growing up. In Sparta, both men and women are warriors. Everyone joins the army and Spartan life was entirely military life. Sparta had neighbours, Thebes, Athens and other Greek cities. Sparta due to its pride, fought with her neighbouring states. Spartan leaders messed up Sparta as you can see in this book. 

What I liked most about this book was the way the author told the story using the voice of one of the leaders in Sparta. He showed clearly how Sparta brought about their decline with their quest for power. What I disliked most about this book was its length, the book is actually very long for this kind of story. It's hard maintaining an interesting story in a long book, even though the author tried to do this. The book got its name from a legendary fox. 

A lad hid this fox on his abdomen with a covering, instead of letting go of the fox as he walked about, he didn't as the fox tore him to death. This was a picture of Sparta. Sparta was a military state, but their ambitions were not noble. They neglected much in governing their state, while they tried to conquer other Greek cities. They engaged in battle with other states as they messed up their state. This was the fox that tore Sparta. Achilles, the legendary Greek hero of Trojan war was mentioned in this book. This book is full of Greek legends. We see how boys and girls grow in Sparta. 

Spartans love games like the Greeks. These games are warlike games and they prepare young Spartans for military life. Certain Greek cities were neighbours to Sparta and they have a particular form of government. Democracy originated in Greece and we see a picture of that Greek origin here. Pride destroyed Sparta. Athens had naval power, they had ships which they sell to other states. Agisilaos was seen in this book as the notorious leader of Sparta and a lot of Sparta's failings are attributed to him. 

Spartans leaders were power-drunk. I recommend this book for history readers. This book talks about the history of Sparta. I also recommend it for those who read warlike stories. There is much fighting here between Sparta and neighbouring states. However if don't like history, then you will have to skip this one. Skip this book if don't like the military. There were very few typos and grammatical errors, so I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because it's professionally edited. It's a very long book to read, but it really dived well into Spartan history. In conclusion, this book is for fans of history and military books.

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The Fox
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