Nicias would've been in his late 40's at the time, and Alcibiades was able to out-manoeuvre and embarrass him in the Athenian Assembly-certainly a clear indication that the democracy did not defer to more experienced politicians if a bright spark was mouthy enough . ( And Alcibiades had a reputation for being unruly ).
12.
I also much enjoyed Howard Rheingold's " Virtual Reality " ( Secker & Warburg ), which describes the computer-created world waiting around the corner of the century, and Simon Schama's " Dead Certainties " ( Granta ), which sent a bright spark between history and fiction : illuminating . }}
