Thiry-seven academics from the U.S., Canada, and Europe contribute 35 chapters to a text aimed at being the most comprehensive single-volume treatment of Greek rhetoric. The text is designed for undergraduate and graduate students and general readers approaching the topic for the first time, and for scholars in related fields of study. It offers a mixture of narrative and thematic analysis tracing the history of rhetoric from Homer to Byzantium, and through a variety of approaches considers rhetoric in a number of historical, social, political, intellectual, and literary contexts. Coverage includes both traditional topics such as rhetoric's place within politics, law, philosophy, and various literary genres, along with topics deserving of more attention, such as rhetoric's relationship to emotion, logic, ethics, knowledge, and religion. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)