Books by Joel Farrell

A new, bold, radical idea emerged in ancient Athens in 508 BCE, the concept that the people could rule themselves. Democracy today is equated with good, just government, but in ancient Greece, it still had a lot to prove. The Athenians embraced democracy in its purest form: direct democracy in which each citizen participated in all the decisions of the state. They had no representatives; rather, they voted directly on all the laws and measures considered by the government. The question was: could it work? The Athenian democracy had plenty of chances to prove itself. It had to deal with the Persian Wars, wars with Sparta and its allies, and the rise of Philip and Alexander the Great. It had to govern a great empire and manage a growing society bent on high achievement. Perhaps the greatest proof of democracy''s merits was that from it came the Golden Age of Athens which gave the world so many of its intellectual and cultural foundations. Joel Farrell''s recounting of the development and challenges of Athenian democracy is peopled by some of the greatest leaders any democracy has produced, as well as some of its worst demagogues. Athenian government was sometimes wise and sometimes foolish, but usually effective. It teaches us much about the potential of democracy in our time and the challenges that any democratic society must face.

In 1379, Venice faced destruction at the hands of an alliance led by her bitter rival Genoa. The ethereal city which today is renowned for its beauty and splendor stood one step from becoming erased from the map of Europe. Only through great hardship, valiant leadership, daring tactics and last minute saves, did Venice free herself from the grip of her foes. When the war ended, little had been decided, and both Venice and Genoa were financially and morally exhausted. Their trading networks, so important to recovery, were in a shambles. From this post-war challenge, Venice was able to recover quickly, but Genoa was not. Venice rose to levels of power and wealth that greatly surpassed her pre-war greatness. By the early fifteenth century, Venice had expanded her Mediterranean empire, established dominance over trade with the east, and controlled most of northeastern Italy. Wealth poured into the Most Serene Republic of Venice. On the other side of Italy, Genoa descended into a state of internal chaos. She became vulnerable to the ambitions of her neighbors including France. She even became a possession of the King of France. Not until the sixteenth century did Genoa fully recover, by which time it was too late to renew competition with Venice. The story of Venice's path from desperation to ascendancy is peopled by some of the greatest heroes the city ever produced. Their stories are captured in Joel Farrell's account of Venice's most dramatic period.