Reviewer:
Paul Priestson
-
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
May 1, 2007
Subject:
The Rise and Fall of the Roamn Republic
I bought the first Pelican paper back edition (1956) of this book in 1959 when I was 18. I still have it, though its condition is now becoming rather fragile. In the intervening 48 years I have frequently used it as a reference to the history of the Roman republic and to find clues as to how it ended and was brutally transformed into an Empire. I have also read the book from cover to cover as entertainment at least three times since I bought it. In somewhat less than 400 pages of small text Cicero and the Roman Republic covers virtually every aspect of the republican era from monetary matters, to households, wages, lifestyles, politics, forms of government and full descriptions of official positions as well as historical developments and events. In short it is highly readable as a political, social and economic history covering around seven centuries of Roam life before Christ. For those who enjoyed the HBO TV series "Rome” and the recent brilliant BBC TV drama-documentary series "Ancient Rome: The rise and Fall of an Empire", this book will be of great interest. It’s a pity that the book seems to be out of print. Perhaps with growing interest in the ancient Romans among the general public the publisher will consider printing a new fully illustrated edition with colour plates, diagrams and maps.