Customer Reviews
History Ancient and Modern - By: Neutral, 02 Nov 2008 
As someone whose knowledge of Roman History was limited to Julius Caesar, Hadrian's Wall & the mistaken belief that the "Lays of Ancient Rome" was a report on the early history of prostitution, I read this book having seen the odd episode of the series on TV. What a pleasure it was to learn just how much we owe to the Romans & how salutary to know how little has changed after 2000 years. Wealth remains the key to power, power corrupts & absolute power corrupts absolutely. While humankindin pursuit of power invoke dieties they are but smokescreens to cover their own selfish ambition, greed & egotism. History is written by the victorious & what has been interpreted as history is constantly rewritten by new generations from a different perspective. The story of Christian persecution & later absorption into the Roman state - & the latter's perversion of the Christian message for the benefit of the state - provide uncomfortable reading for the atheistic messages of Hitchens et.al who blame religion rather than humans for the warring state of the world. The Romans not only killed their perceived enemies, they killed each other. In Nero's case his wife, her unborn child & his own mother were amongst the victims. The battles for power were hardly unique, simply a foretaste of power politics out of control & oftenin the name of liberty. This book is a superbly written piece of narrative history with very little interpretation which makes the reader want to seek out the ancient sources referred toin the many footnotes. This is a publication worthy of the BBC & far longer lasting than recent trash that has grabbed the headlines. An excellent read. An excellent buy.
a great read! - By: R. M. Tuson, 08 Sep 2008 I have just returned from a week sitting on a sun lounger by the side of a pool.
I intended to part read the book on holiday & finish it upon my return.
once i started to read i could not stop & finished the bookin 3 days.
The book is very informative but not too heavy going.
Lots of detail & well researched, i almost felt i was there watching the romans ultimatly self distruct!.
A superb read. a+
First class introducton - By: Scipio2, 19 Jul 2008 This must the best introduction to Roman history written so far, & one not likely to be supersededin a hurry. Not only that but it has features which can benefit anyone well readin the subject since it casts a new light on some of the most important eventsin that history.
Well Worth Reading - By: J. Chippindale, 06 May 2008 For anyone interestedin the history & events that took placein the Roman Empire this book is like manna from heaven. The author relates Roman historyin such a way that the book almost reads like a novel, being both exciting & educational. But if truth be told this is far more interesting than any novel.
Rome was after all one of the greatest, if not the greatest empire ever known. There are figures from its past that stick out like beacons. Probably the greatest of them all Julius Caesar & of course his main adversary Pompey. Others out of the many notables include Mark Antony, Nero, Claudius & many more.
There were also Rome's great buildings. The Forum, the circus maximus & the Flavian amphitheatre, now more commonly known as the Colosseum, all built to show potential enemies the might that was Rome. Then on to the true might of Rome, its Legions. An army that comprised the greatest fighting force the world had ever seen. Because of their discipline & rigid training they were at that periodin history, virtually unbeatable.
The author pulls all these facts together beautifully to make a book that is not only informative & educational but also high readable as well.
A wonderful read - By: Mark Chivers, 12 Mar 2008 The true story of Rome is more fasinating, grand, treacherous, heroic, futile & inspiring than any film has yet portrayed. This is an astonishingly rivetting read with an equally impressive bibliography, that I couldn't put down from start to finish. An absolute must for anyone remotely interested or curiousin ancient Roman times!
