Barry Strauss

At an early age Barry Strauss went crazy over books - and he still is. Along the way he became passionate about history, foreign languages, and boats but books are still at the center of it all.

Strauss grew up in and around New York City. He received bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in history from Cornell and Yale. He has lived and studied in Greece, Germany, Israel and Italy and has traveled extensively in Turkey, Croatia, Cyprus, Jordan, Tunisia, and other countries with classical sites; he has also taken part in archaeological excavations. He speaks and reads seven foreign languages.

Aside from a brief stint as a newspaper reporter, he has made his career as a college teacher. He is Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution and Bryce & Edith M. Bowmar Professor of Humanistic Studies Emeritus at Cornell. He considers himself the luckiest person alive to be able to spend his time reading, writing, and teaching.