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A review by rwalker101
A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome by Emma Southon
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.0
I don't have an issue with pop history. Really, I don't. I enjoy talking sh*t about historical figures with the rest of them. I have enjoyed my fair share of historical & mythological memes. But like many pop history book, this book falls into some traps.
The first is that pop history is best enjoyed in small doses: memes, YouTube video essays, podcasts, etc. Perhaps if I'd taken my time with this book I would have enjoyed it more, but as it stands, the pop history voice grows tiring very, very quickly in book format.
The second problem: Please do not assume your audience finds history boring. Maybe it's because I majored in history, but everything in this book that was prefaced with a "now stick with me" was immediately the most interesting thing I'd ever heard. Comparisons of ancient and modern legal systems! Important context for understanding why the Romans thought the way they did! Why are you trying to undermine yourself when you're giving us the most important details of the book? Pop historians need to stop this immediately, you cannot expect your layman audience to care about the work of history if you are pretending you don't care, either.
The first is that pop history is best enjoyed in small doses: memes, YouTube video essays, podcasts, etc. Perhaps if I'd taken my time with this book I would have enjoyed it more, but as it stands, the pop history voice grows tiring very, very quickly in book format.
The second problem: Please do not assume your audience finds history boring. Maybe it's because I majored in history, but everything in this book that was prefaced with a "now stick with me" was immediately the most interesting thing I'd ever heard. Comparisons of ancient and modern legal systems! Important context for understanding why the Romans thought the way they did! Why are you trying to undermine yourself when you're giving us the most important details of the book? Pop historians need to stop this immediately, you cannot expect your layman audience to care about the work of history if you are pretending you don't care, either.