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writerbeverly's review against another edition
3.0
It's a short, easy read, with lots of historical information, and many absolutely stunning pictures on high quality paper. I highly recommend it, BUT...
It makes certain statements, such as that Cleopatra was blonde, without offering any argument or reasoning for it.
There is/was sloppy proofing/fact-checking that detracts from it. It refers to Caesar being 31 when he met Cleopatra, when he was 51. In explaining Mark Antony's marital configurations, in one place it explains that he was married to Fulvia when he met Cleopatra and begat their twins. Fulvia then died, and he married Octavia, had two daughters and started a third with her, then he returned to Cleopatra. This is clear in one section, but in another it states that Antony was already married to Octavia when he met Cleopatra. In another place it mixes up Caesar's wife Calpurnia with an earlier Caesar wife.
Granted these affairs are confusing, but that's why a reader would want a RELIABLE reference book. So I'd like to rate this book higher, and it's certainly worth having for the gorgeous collection of prints alone, but any reader would need to check a second source to verify the historical facts as presented here.
It makes certain statements, such as that Cleopatra was blonde, without offering any argument or reasoning for it.
There is/was sloppy proofing/fact-checking that detracts from it. It refers to Caesar being 31 when he met Cleopatra, when he was 51. In explaining Mark Antony's marital configurations, in one place it explains that he was married to Fulvia when he met Cleopatra and begat their twins. Fulvia then died, and he married Octavia, had two daughters and started a third with her, then he returned to Cleopatra. This is clear in one section, but in another it states that Antony was already married to Octavia when he met Cleopatra. In another place it mixes up Caesar's wife Calpurnia with an earlier Caesar wife.
Granted these affairs are confusing, but that's why a reader would want a RELIABLE reference book. So I'd like to rate this book higher, and it's certainly worth having for the gorgeous collection of prints alone, but any reader would need to check a second source to verify the historical facts as presented here.