Writers Read is the second instalment of Marshal Zeringue's trilogy of book blogs with a theme.  The first was about books-as-movies.  This one's about what do authors read?   My answer was in this post.

I want to expand a little on the second in my list on Marshal's blog, a lovely little book called  Athenian Homicide Law by Douglas M. MacDowell.

This is a brilliant book on how ancient Athenians managed trials for murder.  Probably not destined for the NY Times bestseller list, but if you're a humble (or not so humble) author of ancient Athenian murder mysteries then it's a must-read.  It's really well written, it quotes original sources, it states clearly not only what's known, but also what's not known, and best of all, it does not impose a single modern view on how they did things back then.

All too many modern historians impose their own ideological biases on ancient history (they'd deny it, but it stands out like a sore thumb), but MacDowell's done a superb job of keeping things neutral.  So, highly recommended.

I'd like to put in a huge thank you to our very own Stephanie Thornton, who spotted the book, let me know about it, bought it and posted it to me.  Thanks Stephanie!