Ebook: Marathon 490 BC: The First Persian Invasion Of Greece

This book starts out, like most of the books in the Osprey Camapaign series, with a brief description of the geopolitical situation existing between anti-Persian Greek coalition and Persia. It then goes compares and contrasts the Greek and Pesian armies. With respect to commanders and numbers it does not do a bad job but with respect to tactics and average troop quality, however, it is weak. The book then continues with the Persian advance through Greece to Marathon. Finally the book (about 2/3 of the way through) describes the battle itself. Unlike most of the Osprey Campaign series it does not have much on the immediate consequences of this campaign although it does have a section on the battlefield for those having a desire to take an in-person tour.

The book has a number of weaknesses, including its rudimentary nature and the fact that its perspective is almost entirely from the Greek side, but for its size (96, about half of which are illustration) it provides a good succinct intro for those seeking to spend only an hour and a half or so on this topic. For those seeking more than a brief introduction (and more on the Persian perspective) a book like Professor Peter Green's "Greco-Persian Wars" would be highly recommended.