I'm not sure who this book is for.

That's not to say Paul Chrystal's War in Greek Mythology isn't well written and impressively and comprehensively researched. Chrystal obviously knows his subject forwards and backwards. A quick glance at a list of other books he has written shows conclusively that he's mastered the varied subjects of Greek and Roman history and lore; I'm sure few modern scholars can boast such a resume.

The issue for me is that I'm not sure what niche this volume fills. Warfare certainly occupies a large portion of the Greek mythos, but this book glosses over the details and aspects of those wars so quickly, there's no room for detail -- he throws the names of gods and heroes at you in abundance, but you don't really have the time or context to absorb them.

So if you're not already familiar with the stories, you won't get much from Chrystal's brief summaries. And if you are already well-versed in the stories, what do you need this book for?

I guess it's nice to have all these references to war in one volume, but I personally can't see the point. I would much rather sit down and read through another collection of Greek myths, enjoying the richness of story and language as they were intended.

This is just a reference book -- albeit a well-researched and scholarly one -- without being arranged with the convenience for easy research.