This extremely up to date and knowledgeable work is more in-depth than a simple overview. Rhodes is an editorial genius and supplies the source citations unobtrusively for every single thing he says. You can thus track down the basis of every claim or statement. His judgment is also excellent on everything. As a graduate student preparing for examinations I found it invaluable. It will also be excellent for undergraduates. Its coverage of the period is better than any comparable textbook I have seen; even better than Sealey's History of the Greek City States, which is excellent also, and covers earlier history as well -- but this is better.

Tiniest complaint: a (very) few typos, and the suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter could have been a LITTLE fuller.