Cyropaedia (The Education of Cyrus)

A fictionalized account of the life of Cyrus the Great 160 years after he died. Xenophon raises the problem that it is difficult for people to rule people as it divides them into two separate groups - the rulers and the ruled. Yet, here is Cyrus who navigated that tension into one of the most successful empires in the ancient world. This is Xenophon's attempt to describe how Cyrus did it by considering the education and preparation he got along the way and how he applied those lessons. Despite slogging along at times, I really enjoyed this book.