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8797999's review against another edition
5.0
A very enjoyable, readable and informative history of Ravenna. Well researched and put together with a lot of scope and information.
I knew very little about Ravenna going into the book and it certainly inspired me to learn more about Europe at that time along with Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire.
I own some of the authors other works but have not read them yet but this book has encouraged me to do so.
Highly recommended and you can judge a book by its cover.
Hope to visit Ravenna one day and enjoy visiting the places I have read about in this book.
I knew very little about Ravenna going into the book and it certainly inspired me to learn more about Europe at that time along with Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire.
I own some of the authors other works but have not read them yet but this book has encouraged me to do so.
Highly recommended and you can judge a book by its cover.
Hope to visit Ravenna one day and enjoy visiting the places I have read about in this book.
srm's review
We only listened to this much out of inertia. There's some interesting stuff in here, but everything is treated as equally important and interesting when it's clearly not, and it became monotonous after 11 and a 1/2 hours. We didn't have 7 and a half more hours in us.
siria's review against another edition
3.0
As Rome declined in the later years of the Roman Empire, various other cities grew to rival it for power and influence. Constantinople is the most famous of these, of course, but Ravenna was another of the "New Romes." It benefited from an enviable location as a port city on the Adriatic that was surrounded by marshy land which made it difficult to besiege. Judith Herrin here recounts the city's history from the fifth through to the ninth century, arguing for its importance to understanding the development of early medieval Europe.
It's an argument which I think has some merit to it, but I'm not sure that the structure of the book was the best way for Herrin to make it. The need to provide framing political context meant that the narrative was constantly jumping away from Ravenna for extended stretches, while the written sources that survive from the city are fairly fragmentary. I came away from Ravenna with a clearer picture of some of the key political figures associated with it over the centuries than I did of what it might have been like to walk the city's streets—though undoubtedly with the wish to visit the city and see some of the magnificent buildings and mosaics about which Herrin writes with such knowledge and affection.
It's an argument which I think has some merit to it, but I'm not sure that the structure of the book was the best way for Herrin to make it. The need to provide framing political context meant that the narrative was constantly jumping away from Ravenna for extended stretches, while the written sources that survive from the city are fairly fragmentary. I came away from Ravenna with a clearer picture of some of the key political figures associated with it over the centuries than I did of what it might have been like to walk the city's streets—though undoubtedly with the wish to visit the city and see some of the magnificent buildings and mosaics about which Herrin writes with such knowledge and affection.
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
I do remember some historical facts about Ravenna but I never read such a detailed and well research historical book about the city.
It was a fascinating and informative read and I loved the style of writing and how the author talks about historical characters making them fascinating and vivid.
It's an excellent read that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It was a fascinating and informative read and I loved the style of writing and how the author talks about historical characters making them fascinating and vivid.
It's an excellent read that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
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