Books on Ancient Rome
Discussion
Eric Mc said:
Fiction or non-fiction?
On the fiction front, I would recommend "Pompeii" and "Imperium" by Robert Harris.
The sequel to "Imperium" is now out.
Non-fiction, historical, this-is-what-and-how-it-happened kind of stuff. On the fiction front, I would recommend "Pompeii" and "Imperium" by Robert Harris.
The sequel to "Imperium" is now out.
I don't mind having to get a few books to really cover it off.
I have quite a few, one of the best and accessible is "Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland". I am on my second read of this - it covers the time from around 100BC, up to the Civil Wars when the Republic was replaced by the Empire and Caesar.
For earlier periods, “The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265-146BC by Adrian Goldsworthy is also a great read. (There are good books on Hannibal too)
One of my favourite books is “For the Glory of Rome: A History of Warriors and Warfare by Ross Cowan – it also has an excellent chapter on King Pyrrhus (What a guy!)
ETA - If you really want to get 'under the hood' of normal Roman life, "Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day: A Guide to Sightseeing, Shopping and Survival in the City of the Caesars" is a little gem of a book (by Philip Matyszak)
(Have just finished "Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations" by Martin Goodman, it's good, but perhaps a little heavy going for those interested in the basics)
For earlier periods, “The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265-146BC by Adrian Goldsworthy is also a great read. (There are good books on Hannibal too)
One of my favourite books is “For the Glory of Rome: A History of Warriors and Warfare by Ross Cowan – it also has an excellent chapter on King Pyrrhus (What a guy!)
ETA - If you really want to get 'under the hood' of normal Roman life, "Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day: A Guide to Sightseeing, Shopping and Survival in the City of the Caesars" is a little gem of a book (by Philip Matyszak)
(Have just finished "Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations" by Martin Goodman, it's good, but perhaps a little heavy going for those interested in the basics)
Edited by chris watton on Sunday 22 November 10:01
What aspects? Any particular period? And from what point of view.
The 5Denarii book is very good. I'm not a fan of Holland's stuff though.
You could always read what the Romans wrote. Penguin Classics publish loads of stuff or try a decent 2nd hand bookshop.
Remember that most things are written to push a point of view or a political agenda. But you should have no trouble getting books on the military campaigns, The Gallic Wars and the the Civil War by JC are widely stocked. Amazon has a good selection. I'm currenlty half way through Ammianus Marcellinus' Later Roman Empire and I've recently finished The Eagle of the Ninth as bedtime story for my 7 year old.
I think most fiction and popular stuff concentrates on the period around the end of the Republic, the triumvirates and the following emperors - all good interesting stories. The actual collapse and fragmentation and the incoming of the 'barbarians' is not so well covered.
The 5Denarii book is very good. I'm not a fan of Holland's stuff though.
You could always read what the Romans wrote. Penguin Classics publish loads of stuff or try a decent 2nd hand bookshop.
Remember that most things are written to push a point of view or a political agenda. But you should have no trouble getting books on the military campaigns, The Gallic Wars and the the Civil War by JC are widely stocked. Amazon has a good selection. I'm currenlty half way through Ammianus Marcellinus' Later Roman Empire and I've recently finished The Eagle of the Ninth as bedtime story for my 7 year old.
I think most fiction and popular stuff concentrates on the period around the end of the Republic, the triumvirates and the following emperors - all good interesting stories. The actual collapse and fragmentation and the incoming of the 'barbarians' is not so well covered.
The translations of Livy's (Titus Livius) history are very good. HTML and text versions can be found on the Project Gutenberg website to download for free. http://www.gutenberg.org/
plasticpig said:
The translations of Livy's (Titus Livius) history are very good. HTML and text versions can be found on the Project Gutenberg website to download for free. http://www.gutenberg.org/
I have read these, they are (obviously) VERY biased towards Rome, especially Rome's 'prowess' in the 2nd Punic War, where he seems to have made up Roman victories against Hannibal, presumably for the digestion of his Roman readers.It's fiction but based on fact and incredibly well researched;
http://www.stephen-baxter.com/books.html
Check out "Emperor" and the follow on books.
He's renowned for taking on an idea and really expanding it to encompass the past, present and future in an immense way but with substantiated research.
Also recommend his Evolution book, and theory of the hive mind in his Destiny's Children series.
http://www.stephen-baxter.com/books.html
Check out "Emperor" and the follow on books.
He's renowned for taking on an idea and really expanding it to encompass the past, present and future in an immense way but with substantiated research.
Also recommend his Evolution book, and theory of the hive mind in his Destiny's Children series.
q
It's by no means a balanced view. Pretty difficult to get the history from the Carthaginian point of view though 
chris watton said:
plasticpig said:
The translations of Livy's (Titus Livius) history are very good. HTML and text versions can be found on the Project Gutenberg website to download for free. http://www.gutenberg.org/
I have read these, they are (obviously) VERY biased towards Rome, especially Rome's 'prowess' in the 2nd Punic War, where he seems to have made up Roman victories against Hannibal, presumably for the digestion of his Roman readers.plasticpig said:
q
It's by no means a balanced view. Pretty difficult to get the history from the Carthaginian point of view though
Very true! chris watton said:
plasticpig said:
The translations of Livy's (Titus Livius) history are very good. HTML and text versions can be found on the Project Gutenberg website to download for free. http://www.gutenberg.org/
I have read these, they are (obviously) VERY biased towards Rome, especially Rome's 'prowess' in the 2nd Punic War, where he seems to have made up Roman victories against Hannibal, presumably for the digestion of his Roman readers.I still enjoyed the read, and liked the 'bigging up' Rome bits, nothing really changes, does it!
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