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jvan's review against another edition
4.0
Very nearly 5 stars; the early portion about Augustus was 5 stars, easy; Tiberius could be 5 stars; Caligula was 5 stars. But Claudius and Nero were a little less good, and overall, I'd call it closer to 4 than to 5.
That said, this is a really well written book that looks at the Julio-Claudians in a narrow focus, paying attention to all the twists and turns of the dynasty and only glancingly looking to the rest of Roman history; where that history impacts or is impacted by the House of Caesar, it features (and much of it was, of course) but when history doesn't feature them, it doesn't really feature in the book. The focus does the narrative very well. Holland knew what he was doing when he made that choice, and it pays off.
So then, very nearly 5 stars. Maybe it should be 5? Well, I'm leaving it as 4 for the moment.
That said, this is a really well written book that looks at the Julio-Claudians in a narrow focus, paying attention to all the twists and turns of the dynasty and only glancingly looking to the rest of Roman history; where that history impacts or is impacted by the House of Caesar, it features (and much of it was, of course) but when history doesn't feature them, it doesn't really feature in the book. The focus does the narrative very well. Holland knew what he was doing when he made that choice, and it pays off.
So then, very nearly 5 stars. Maybe it should be 5? Well, I'm leaving it as 4 for the moment.
sharon_geitz's review against another edition
4.0
Engaging, very readable account of the Julio-Claudians. A great read, perfect non-fiction holiday read, you can count on the Romans for shock value and sensation, the ultimate soap- opera. Holland does move beyond the old stereotypes and tries to bring greater understanding to the behaviour of those most notorious Romans.
karatedrummer's review against another edition
4.0
Somewhat less compelling than Rubicon, maybe because the period of time Holland bites off here is almost frustratingly small. I want to know what happens to the post-Nero generations, dammit. Still very good stuff.
aschwennsen's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly this book was so engaging for a nonfiction historical book. There's no denying that the house of Caesar was full of intrigue and dazzling spectacles but the way Tom Holland wrote about it brought it all to life. This book was witty, and I very much enjoyed every bit of it. I also appreciated that the facts were all backed up, but also that he used the facts to justify his own explanations/take on the emperors' psyches.
cerandor's review against another edition
4.0
Tom Holland returns to the Roman subject matter that marked his first blockbuster history time with the story of the first five emperors and the Julio-Claudian dynasty that they comprised. There is treachery and depravity aplenty here, and once again a reminder that as familiar as the Romans may be, they didn't think in the same way as the citizens of the civilisations that trace their lineage back to them. The focus on five emperors allows for a lot of depth and Holland's trademark psychological insights, but by the end you may find yourself wishing for a greater breadth of scope.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
Sometimes I wish I Claudius was true, but then if it was, we wouldn't have nicely detailed books like this.
I highly recommend, you already have a general outline of the time because at points Holland jumps around a bit. I liked that, however, because it shows the relationships between different policies.
Sometimes I wish I Claudius was true, but then if it was, we wouldn't have nicely detailed books like this.
I highly recommend, you already have a general outline of the time because at points Holland jumps around a bit. I liked that, however, because it shows the relationships between different policies.
marielaabrown's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
slow-paced
3.75
Kept losing attention but was a comprehensive and well written account of the House of Caesar. From the the crude to political this was a great follow up to the Nero Exhibition at the British Museum.
readerstephen86's review against another edition
4.0
SUMMARY - It cuts corners, but still make space in your hand luggage. This populist history comes with layers, and it's morish.
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Tom Holland's books have that WH Smith's Bestseller airport display feeling. Like the toblerone you guiltily stuff into your backpack (squashing the toothbrush to the bottom in the process), you know it's going to be all too easy just to keep devouring it. It reads like a gossip magazine and like the glinting gold of its cover art - which I do like - it's designed to catch the eye of the reader with a sweet tooth for an undemanding read.
But as other reviewers have said, I think the easy reading belies hard writing. This isn't just a biography of men-made-into-monsters, however much the portraits stand out from the page (Caligula, Nero, Claudius, Augustus, Germanicus, and not to mention the women such as Agrippina et al.). We get the politics or empire, which manages to outline the local terrain of the Germanic tribes, Gaul, British colonisation and Welsh/Icenic rebellions, Syria, Greece, and Egypt. More, we get an elaboration of the problems of governance within Italy and Rome set out so well in Holland's first book, Rubicon. The erosion of idealised civic 'virtue' and with it democracy and its institutional counterbalances is set out with a more-than-impressionistic sweep of the brush.
I didn't feel there was quite such a clearly articulated narrative thrust on any of these, perhaps because the hideous fascination of the emperors proves too compelling to ignore. Each chapter is framed around the man (and their wives and mothers) who cast mesmeric power, and perhaps even more mesmeric weaknesses that often lead to their downfall. I liked that Holland doesn't give total credence to the rumours or incest and other forms of debauchery, not least because smear tactics and grudges were the mainstays of Roman power politics. The writer (or rumour-monger) controls the message. Yet the rumours, like that lovely sugar-packed Swiss chocolate, are hard to put down.
For readability this is a five, in a way that few histories manage. Even if I didn't rate this quite as highly as Rubicon, it's a deft feat to combine unputdownable storytelling with the range of scope and scholarship that underpins the footnotes.
The shortcuts make this book as readable as it is, and yes, passing WH Smiths in the airport I'd absolutely reach up for my fourth installment of a Holland-penned history. There are certainly devils in the detail. One of the pictures is credited to Wikipedia, which made me wonder how many other liberties Holland might have taken to make his task easier. Similarly slapdash, quotes are chucked whole into paragraphs without any context or analysis; they spash into the water of words purely to make waves. So too, the sources are there to see at the end, but their relative reliability are moored to the sidelines, and too rarely examined. This is Popular, capital 'P', and history small 'h'. Don't necessarily trust everything that's said as being at face value, but if like me you want a carnivalesque introduction to ancient history full of life, human interest and broader scene-setting, go and make space alongside that toblerone - you won't regret it.
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Tom Holland's books have that WH Smith's Bestseller airport display feeling. Like the toblerone you guiltily stuff into your backpack (squashing the toothbrush to the bottom in the process), you know it's going to be all too easy just to keep devouring it. It reads like a gossip magazine and like the glinting gold of its cover art - which I do like - it's designed to catch the eye of the reader with a sweet tooth for an undemanding read.
But as other reviewers have said, I think the easy reading belies hard writing. This isn't just a biography of men-made-into-monsters, however much the portraits stand out from the page (Caligula, Nero, Claudius, Augustus, Germanicus, and not to mention the women such as Agrippina et al.). We get the politics or empire, which manages to outline the local terrain of the Germanic tribes, Gaul, British colonisation and Welsh/Icenic rebellions, Syria, Greece, and Egypt. More, we get an elaboration of the problems of governance within Italy and Rome set out so well in Holland's first book, Rubicon. The erosion of idealised civic 'virtue' and with it democracy and its institutional counterbalances is set out with a more-than-impressionistic sweep of the brush.
I didn't feel there was quite such a clearly articulated narrative thrust on any of these, perhaps because the hideous fascination of the emperors proves too compelling to ignore. Each chapter is framed around the man (and their wives and mothers) who cast mesmeric power, and perhaps even more mesmeric weaknesses that often lead to their downfall. I liked that Holland doesn't give total credence to the rumours or incest and other forms of debauchery, not least because smear tactics and grudges were the mainstays of Roman power politics. The writer (or rumour-monger) controls the message. Yet the rumours, like that lovely sugar-packed Swiss chocolate, are hard to put down.
For readability this is a five, in a way that few histories manage. Even if I didn't rate this quite as highly as Rubicon, it's a deft feat to combine unputdownable storytelling with the range of scope and scholarship that underpins the footnotes.
The shortcuts make this book as readable as it is, and yes, passing WH Smiths in the airport I'd absolutely reach up for my fourth installment of a Holland-penned history. There are certainly devils in the detail. One of the pictures is credited to Wikipedia, which made me wonder how many other liberties Holland might have taken to make his task easier. Similarly slapdash, quotes are chucked whole into paragraphs without any context or analysis; they spash into the water of words purely to make waves. So too, the sources are there to see at the end, but their relative reliability are moored to the sidelines, and too rarely examined. This is Popular, capital 'P', and history small 'h'. Don't necessarily trust everything that's said as being at face value, but if like me you want a carnivalesque introduction to ancient history full of life, human interest and broader scene-setting, go and make space alongside that toblerone - you won't regret it.