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17 reviews for:
Dangerous Days in the Roman Empire: Terrors and Torments, Diseases and Deaths
Terry Deary
3.48 AVERAGE
17 reviews for:
Dangerous Days in the Roman Empire: Terrors and Torments, Diseases and Deaths
Terry Deary
3.48 AVERAGE
Things did get too list-like in the later years, but that was only to be expected, given the sheer number of Roman Emperors. Still, this is part of the problem - there's much more to Roman history than emperors, and leaving a few of those out to focus on ANY other aspect than the wacky rulers would have made this much more interesting.
This is a really funny book, just like the Horrible Histories series. This book really is like the grownup version of the series.
It’s divided by reigning emperor and it tells what that person did, how they became emperor and how they died. It is a lot more in depth than any other history book I usually read and it’s NOT boring, which is a HUGE plus! That’s what I love about Terry Deary, his book are hilarious and make you want to read more.
Though, this one wasn’t my favourite of the bunch. I mean, it’s interesting, it’s funny, but I just wasn’t interested enough in it to truly love it. I really learned something from it, which is a plus because that’s what you want when you read non-fiction, but I just wasn’t invested in it. I really want to say more about this book, but I don’t feel like there is much else to say, it’s a non-fiction, hilarious, knowledgeable, uncommon with it’s information and just plain Terry Deary, it’s just a shame I’m not into the era!
Do I recommend this book if you ARE interested in the Roman era? Totally! Do I recommend it if you AREN’T interested in the Roman era? Still totally!
It’s divided by reigning emperor and it tells what that person did, how they became emperor and how they died. It is a lot more in depth than any other history book I usually read and it’s NOT boring, which is a HUGE plus! That’s what I love about Terry Deary, his book are hilarious and make you want to read more.
Though, this one wasn’t my favourite of the bunch. I mean, it’s interesting, it’s funny, but I just wasn’t interested enough in it to truly love it. I really learned something from it, which is a plus because that’s what you want when you read non-fiction, but I just wasn’t invested in it. I really want to say more about this book, but I don’t feel like there is much else to say, it’s a non-fiction, hilarious, knowledgeable, uncommon with it’s information and just plain Terry Deary, it’s just a shame I’m not into the era!
Do I recommend this book if you ARE interested in the Roman era? Totally! Do I recommend it if you AREN’T interested in the Roman era? Still totally!
This book is from the author of the Horrible History books which I had loved so much and this book is one of the books for adults that focuses on the more gruesome parts of history.
I did enjoy this book, it went through the different emperors that ruled over Rome and the good, bad and the mad things they did, however, I felt like it was missing a certain lightheartedness and humour that I so enjoyed in the Horrible History books. It was a good overview of the more gruesome bits of the Roman Empire and covered why it failed in the end, and I found it interesting, but it was just missing something for me.
4 stars!
I did enjoy this book, it went through the different emperors that ruled over Rome and the good, bad and the mad things they did, however, I felt like it was missing a certain lightheartedness and humour that I so enjoyed in the Horrible History books. It was a good overview of the more gruesome bits of the Roman Empire and covered why it failed in the end, and I found it interesting, but it was just missing something for me.
4 stars!
I found it quite interesting, but the jokes and modern comparisons and quotes got boring quite quickly.
“History is a nightmare from which we are trying to awaken.” – James Joyce
It took me about 100 pages or so to really "get into" this book. The details can be just as gory as the back cover promises, but the writing style is much more tongue-in-cheek and chock full of puns. Not exactly what you expect when reading about death by fire or flaying and a series of brutal emperors. For this I really appreciated the excerpts by Dr. Peter Fox that gave the medical reasoning by how and why someone could die by whatever Roman form of torture. In the end I did come around to the way in which Deary approached this: Especially the puns. A perfect example is "...bombarded with turnips. Swede revenge." The book is also full of wonderful quotes about history and the Roman empire to break up the sections of information. Overall I did enjoy this book and would recommend it as a way to ease back into non-fiction reading. Deary's opinion on the people and era he is speaking to is very clear, so I would also recommend this to someone who already has some knowledge of this period for context and to get the most out of the book.
It took me about 100 pages or so to really "get into" this book. The details can be just as gory as the back cover promises, but the writing style is much more tongue-in-cheek and chock full of puns. Not exactly what you expect when reading about death by fire or flaying and a series of brutal emperors. For this I really appreciated the excerpts by Dr. Peter Fox that gave the medical reasoning by how and why someone could die by whatever Roman form of torture. In the end I did come around to the way in which Deary approached this: Especially the puns. A perfect example is "...bombarded with turnips. Swede revenge." The book is also full of wonderful quotes about history and the Roman empire to break up the sections of information. Overall I did enjoy this book and would recommend it as a way to ease back into non-fiction reading. Deary's opinion on the people and era he is speaking to is very clear, so I would also recommend this to someone who already has some knowledge of this period for context and to get the most out of the book.
Much like other reviewers, I was a huge fan of Horrible Histories growing up, and they spawned within me a passion for history that led me to study it at University. Unfortunately, Deary's writing hasn't quite aged with its audience: the same humour is used (minus the thoroughly entertaining illustrations that accompanied his books for kids) and all that seems to separate it as an adult's book are references to sex that wouldn't upset anyone over the age of ten. The format needs some more organisation, particularly the occurrences of the brief timelines.
On a more nitpicky note, there are a few typos in the dates (see the birthdate of Severus) and some facts are outdated, or have at least been contested by recent scholarship (the purpose of Hadrian's Wall being one that springs to mind). The problem with the latter, is that I raise the issue as a historian (in training) and Deary makes himself very clear throughout the book what he thinks of them as a species.
That being said, the book is still entertaining. It provides a good introduction to the basic facts of the Roman Empire in a format suited to someone with a burgeoning interest in the subject. I think once Deary finds his feet a bit more with his adult audience, any second book would be well worth a read.
On a more nitpicky note, there are a few typos in the dates (see the birthdate of Severus) and some facts are outdated, or have at least been contested by recent scholarship (the purpose of Hadrian's Wall being one that springs to mind). The problem with the latter, is that I raise the issue as a historian (in training) and Deary makes himself very clear throughout the book what he thinks of them as a species.
That being said, the book is still entertaining. It provides a good introduction to the basic facts of the Roman Empire in a format suited to someone with a burgeoning interest in the subject. I think once Deary finds his feet a bit more with his adult audience, any second book would be well worth a read.
I expected this to be much funnier than it was, but despite that it was still pretty informative. could have done without the suddenly anti-Christian mini rant in the epilogue, but oh well. (not that the Christians weren't horrible, but I didn't buy this book for a religious rant). Anyway a solid 3/5 for good information