RATING: 4/5
BLURB: “Ancient Rome matters: we still judge ourselves against its history of empire, conquest and excess, and its debates about citizenship, terrorism and the rights of the individual influence how we think about civil liberty today. Covering a thousand years of Roman history, SPQR reveals in vivid detail how Rome grew from an insignificant village in central Italy to the first global superpower. As well as casting fresh light on Roman culture from running water to democracy, and from slavery to migration, Mary Beard shows us how the Romans thought about themselves and their achievements”
REVIEW: I have always been interested in Ancient Rome but have never actually read much on it; I love Mary Beard’s documentaries so when I heard about this book, which is an overview of the history of Ancient Rome, I thought it would be the perfect introduction. This book was easy to read, the facts made both interesting and simple so that it was engaging and also the perfect way to be introduced to the complex political, social and cultural history of Ancient Rome. Even the sections on Roman wars, a subject I tend to find quite dull, were written so that I found them much easier to understand and also far more fun to read about than I would normally. The whole book was gripping and fascinating, presenting the facts in a way that linked them to our modern world, which also made it much easier to relate to. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an introduction to the world of Ancient Rome, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Coffee, Books and Paris 