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berenikeasteria's review against another edition
4.0
Full disclosure: I requested an Advance Uncorrected Proof (ebook format) of this book from the publisher and was approved. The edition I have is an English translation from the original Italian.
Once, as a graduate student assigned to review a book of my own choice, I suggested a certain recently released book about ancient Egypt which the lecturer sniffily dismissed, because it was “popular history” and not strictly speaking an academic text. Popular histories tend to be side-lined or overlooked in academic circles, thought of as the less rigorously researched, unreferenced, demagogue cousins of serious history. But in many ways I love popular histories. The trained historian in me would note that the scenes and imagery that Alberto Angela creates in The Reach of Rome are fictional, and though based on the archaeological evidence and the works of several historians, the text is not peppered with references, nor does it contain an extensive bibliography that is usually the hallmark of academic publications. But that is precisely the point.
The delightful thing about a good popular history is that the writing seems to flow more easily and the author has more freedom to play with language. The technical focus of academic publications can be intense and can render the work inscrutable to outsiders – The Reach of Rome strips all that away, and simply delivers the history, playing with fictional narrative and all the scope it offers to connect directly to readers and make the history accessible.
Unconventional, it definitely is. Alberto Angela takes the reader on a journey throughout the Roman empire at its greatest extent, exploring the many different aspects of life through the narrative device of following a sestertius coin as it changes hands across the empire. It’s an effective and novel way of exploring such diverse topics and places whilst maintaining a common thread throughout, and the snapshot vignettes into the lives of the coin’s various owners create a connection to the human story that resonates even in the modern day.
Undoubtedly my favourite scene was the day at the races of the Circus Maximus, as our coin returns to Rome, and Alberto Angela, and his translator Gregory Conti, succeed in bringing to life the excited frisson of the brutal chariot races. Other highlights for me included Leptis Magna, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Britain; the far-flung and exotic outposts of the empire – but then I may have been swayed by the fact that I’m British with a historical interest in the ancient Near East!
p. ix: “A journey where you will breathe the atmosphere of exotic places, the smells of the alleyways in Alexandria, Egypt, the fragrances used by noblewomen strolling on the streets of Milan; where you will hear the sound of hammers and chisels at work in a stonecutter’s shop in Athens; and where you will see the painted shields of legionnaires on the march in Germany and the painted bodies of the barbarians on the empire’s northern border in Scotland.”
The above quote is from the book’s introduction, and already it had succeeded in drawing me in. For me it encapsulates everything that’s great about The Reach of Rome. By that stage I already wanted to read more about the places and scenes described. As a historian interested in history for public consumption, I feel that popular histories are important. They should always come with the caveat that they are not the final word on the topic, but they do such a service, creating clear, accessible, interesting history for everyone to read. The Reach of Rome presses all the right buttons. It’s descriptive, it’s imaginative, and it’s evocative, engaging the senses to immediately and effectively weave a vision in the mind’s eye of ancient times and people both familiar and strange.
8 out of 10
iswendle's review against another edition
4.0
You take 2 steps forward. The lab was quite cold, especially since you were told to wear comfortable clothes for a sunny day. You look around. A huge cylinder room made of shining white metal. You hear hissing sounds, charging of some kind. The only one next to you is an incredible enthusiastic Italian man with curly salt-and-pepper hair. He's over excited, almost jumping! You turn around to where you came from. A thick glass door closes, through it you see a couple of small scientists in lab coats. Behind them? A huge map of the Mediterranean. "I can't wait to see it with my own eyes," says the Italian. He taps you on your shoulder, and you get snapped out of your confused stare to the outside. "We are going to Rome!"
Alberto Angela takes his readers on a journey to peak of the Roman empire (literally, the time it was largest and most prosperous, under Trajan). We follow a single coin, a sesterius, as it changes hands from soldiers in England, to farmers in Germany, citizens of Rome, merchants in India and everything in between. And when I say follow I mean literally follow: Angela reaches us his hand and explains everything we see. Sometimes referring to pots or vases found in the area by his colleagues, sometimes referring to the classic authors, but more often than not also neglecting this practice to keep the pace high. What follows is a captivating journey through every piece of the Roman empire.
The premise of this book is totally popular history: it does an incredible job of actually making you feel the Roman Empire. Letting you walk through apartments, feel the thrill of betting on the horse races, haggling with merchants etc. If it were just that, my middle school history teacher would've resounded in my head every page: :"What is your source?" But as mentioned before, when information becomes a little unbelievable, Angela is quick to come up with his reasoning for bringing it to us in such a way. Names of the characters we meet? Often they are found on gravestones and the like in the surrounding area. Conversations we overhear? Taken straight from Roman historians. This added a lot of credibility and took away my doubt about the intentions of the book completely: it really wants to show an accurate version of the Roman empire, as accurate as we could get with the source material we have.
My conclusion then? Damn, the Roman empire wasn't too bad. Yes, there was huge inequality of wealth, and there was slavery. But from the way it looked, it could've only gone up. Slaves were often freed after certain years as liberti. Inequality only came from wealth, Angela himself said there was little to no racism. If the Romans had had their way, who knows how far they could've come, given that shortly after the height of the empire in this book it collapsed. Okay, there was also the widespread violence in the street, lack of proper policing, glorification of violence. But, especially among the upper classes of Rome, women were becoming more liberated than most people think (in Angela's view). This and other insights were a great addition to an otherwise already great read. The Roman empire had even more going for its society besides bath houses. Great engineering, social laws, equality etc.
And since this is my conclusion I cannot help to add that I think Angela also wrote this book with a patriotic heart. I can understand, as I too was in awe of some of the things he found. While the end of the book does sketch a more nuanced picture, Angela does his best to go over the less fortunate things quickly. The poorer people we follow often come upon dumb luck when we meet them, in an otherwise bitter existence. In truth, this perspective made the book more fun to read instead of fun followed by some bitter reality. Maybe I like it better that way, but I think it is a valid criticism I had to write down.
So that's it, an exceptional popular history of the Roman empire. It reads astoundingly quick, is very informative, and (if you can forgive its patriotic and overtly optimistic standpoint) is an blast to read. Recommended!
Alberto Angela takes his readers on a journey to peak of the Roman empire (literally, the time it was largest and most prosperous, under Trajan). We follow a single coin, a sesterius, as it changes hands from soldiers in England, to farmers in Germany, citizens of Rome, merchants in India and everything in between. And when I say follow I mean literally follow: Angela reaches us his hand and explains everything we see. Sometimes referring to pots or vases found in the area by his colleagues, sometimes referring to the classic authors, but more often than not also neglecting this practice to keep the pace high. What follows is a captivating journey through every piece of the Roman empire.
The premise of this book is totally popular history: it does an incredible job of actually making you feel the Roman Empire. Letting you walk through apartments, feel the thrill of betting on the horse races, haggling with merchants etc. If it were just that, my middle school history teacher would've resounded in my head every page: :"What is your source?" But as mentioned before, when information becomes a little unbelievable, Angela is quick to come up with his reasoning for bringing it to us in such a way. Names of the characters we meet? Often they are found on gravestones and the like in the surrounding area. Conversations we overhear? Taken straight from Roman historians. This added a lot of credibility and took away my doubt about the intentions of the book completely: it really wants to show an accurate version of the Roman empire, as accurate as we could get with the source material we have.
My conclusion then? Damn, the Roman empire wasn't too bad. Yes, there was huge inequality of wealth, and there was slavery. But from the way it looked, it could've only gone up. Slaves were often freed after certain years as liberti. Inequality only came from wealth, Angela himself said there was little to no racism. If the Romans had had their way, who knows how far they could've come, given that shortly after the height of the empire in this book it collapsed. Okay, there was also the widespread violence in the street, lack of proper policing, glorification of violence. But, especially among the upper classes of Rome, women were becoming more liberated than most people think (in Angela's view). This and other insights were a great addition to an otherwise already great read. The Roman empire had even more going for its society besides bath houses. Great engineering, social laws, equality etc.
And since this is my conclusion I cannot help to add that I think Angela also wrote this book with a patriotic heart. I can understand, as I too was in awe of some of the things he found. While the end of the book does sketch a more nuanced picture, Angela does his best to go over the less fortunate things quickly. The poorer people we follow often come upon dumb luck when we meet them, in an otherwise bitter existence. In truth, this perspective made the book more fun to read instead of fun followed by some bitter reality. Maybe I like it better that way, but I think it is a valid criticism I had to write down.
So that's it, an exceptional popular history of the Roman empire. It reads astoundingly quick, is very informative, and (if you can forgive its patriotic and overtly optimistic standpoint) is an blast to read. Recommended!
izumen's review
Книгата е нещо като документален филм от History channel, смесен с епизод на сериала "Рим".
bookstodiscover's review against another edition
4.0
Tarinallinen tietopaketti antiikin Rooman valtakunnasta. Viihdytti ja opetti.
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