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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I enjoyed it for the most part; I feel like there plenty of information of all facets of Roman society and life that is not just limited to how the emperors lived
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
One of those books that make you feel empty once you finish them and realize that the wonderful journey they've given us is over
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
I have long been fascinated by the ancient Romans. In high school and college my first exposure to the period was Asimov's The Roman Republic and Gibbon's (abridged) Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. These works were traditional narratives of invasions, conspiracies, and Great Men tracing the arc of historical inevitability. The story was spiced up later by Graves' I Claudius and more recently the HBO series Rome.
Against this background I welcome Mary Beard's SPQR--A History of Ancient Rome. It focus on the millennium from the traditional foundation of Rome in the 8th century BCE to Caracalla's blanket grant of Roman citizenship to every free inhabitant of the empire in 212 CE. The story of Rome traces the evolution of an iron age village to a world power and its transition from monarchy, to republican, to imperial government. Beard weighs writings of the period against archaeological evidence to consider how each era wrestled with problems that resonate today. Who is a citizen? What are the origins and distribution of wealth? How is power acquired and exercised? How are myths concerning the foundation of nationhood formed and shaped by contemporary politics and culture?
But SPQR is not a dry treatise. Beard details the origins, beliefs, and motivations of Cicero and Augustus as they each took advantage of a string of crises of late republic--one resisting and the other promoting the bloody transition from republic to empire. She examines the sparser evidence left behind by tradesmen, soldiers, women, and slaves to describe the experience of ordinary people. Beard is a refreshingly skeptical historian, mindful that the written record is curated by winners to put themselves in the most favorable light.
SPQR demonstrates that, in Beard's words,
Against this background I welcome Mary Beard's SPQR--A History of Ancient Rome. It focus on the millennium from the traditional foundation of Rome in the 8th century BCE to Caracalla's blanket grant of Roman citizenship to every free inhabitant of the empire in 212 CE. The story of Rome traces the evolution of an iron age village to a world power and its transition from monarchy, to republican, to imperial government. Beard weighs writings of the period against archaeological evidence to consider how each era wrestled with problems that resonate today. Who is a citizen? What are the origins and distribution of wealth? How is power acquired and exercised? How are myths concerning the foundation of nationhood formed and shaped by contemporary politics and culture?
But SPQR is not a dry treatise. Beard details the origins, beliefs, and motivations of Cicero and Augustus as they each took advantage of a string of crises of late republic--one resisting and the other promoting the bloody transition from republic to empire. She examines the sparser evidence left behind by tradesmen, soldiers, women, and slaves to describe the experience of ordinary people. Beard is a refreshingly skeptical historian, mindful that the written record is curated by winners to put themselves in the most favorable light.
SPQR demonstrates that, in Beard's words,
"...we have an enormous amount to learn -- as much about ourselves as about the past -- by engaging with the history of the Romans, their poetry and prose, their controversies and arguments."
challenging
informative
slow-paced
I really liked the way that Beard structured the book. I felt like I learned a lot, and had fun while learning. I especially liked the focus on what was going on outside of Rome as well.
informative
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
As someone with no prior background or reading in Roman history, I appreciated how "SPQR" had a straightforward and accessible tone. The book provides a little information on a lot of topics that can inspire future readings in this subject, while still giving detailed enough in some areas (particularly the institutions of the Republic and imperial transition).