Steinbock gives all of his Greek sources in translation, which makes his book accessible to a wider circle of readers. When he feels it important to add the Greek original, he regularly does so in brackets, which can be distracting, but I appreciate his desire to reach a wider audience. This is a very rich and rewarding book that should stimulate others to apply its methods to many other moments in Greek history and to deepen our understanding of Greek uses of the past." —American Historical Review "... Steinbock offers a new approach to the way in which the past was used in public discourse in ancient Athens and his study will doubtless provoke other scholars to re-think common perceptions of the role of the historical allusion in the Attic orators." —Classical Journal "'History without historians' is the provocative subtitle of a recent collection of essays exploring how the ancient Greeks themselves perceived, constructed, and used their own past. Steinbock’s study is yet another contribution in this promising direction... Steinbock is definitely at his best in outlining the impact of social memory on Athenian politics and public discourse." —Phoenix "Steinbock explores the role of social memory in Athenian public deliberation during the fourth century BC. ...His nuanced picture of Athenian memory, the orators’ role in its negotiation, and indeed much of his analysis of the recollection of Thebes in Athenian public discourse are must-reads and will prove a valuable point of departure for any future study of Greek social memory." —Histos "While many works have been devoted to the impact of the Persian Wars in shaping collective memory and identity, Steinbock ventures into the less explored field of the use of memory in the context of public communication for influencing decision-making. The choice to monitor a specific case study allows the author to explore in depth the reshaping of the past both over time and in relation to the rhetoric goal of the moment. The most interesting aspects are the analysis of the speakers’ capability of engaging with alternative interpretations of past events challenging “established memories”, and the convincing demonstration that arguments from social memory were decisive factors influencing common decisions. The parallels with contemporary political discourse are illuminating – in particular, George Bush’s use of the memory of America’s role in World War II in his speech to the troops in Iraq on December 14, 2008 (p. 1 f.), and the persistent memory of Morgenthau’s 1944 plan of turning Germany into an agrarian state in German historical consciousness and political discourse during the 1980s and 1990s (pp. 298-230)." —Bryn Mawr Classical Review "Deepens our understanding of Athenian social memory in the Classical period [and] ... opens up new avenues of investigation into a subject that has already received a considerable amount of attention." —Classical Philology "A careful, balanced, and frequently illuminating study of Athenian social memory ... We may never be able to capture fully the dynamism of Athenian social memory, but Steinbock has gone a long way in showing us how to get a sense of its power and utility, not just for the Athenians but also for modern students of their history." —American Journal of Philology