jmatkinson1's review against another edition
4.0
From the rise of Julius Caesar to the death of Nero, five generations of the same family ruled Rome. The greatest of all was Augustus, a living God, whose machinations influenced public policy and whose belief in power meant that he manipulated his extended family to his own ends. In-fighting, murder, incest thread through the lives of the family of Augustus and in the end the family imploded. Nero, the final Emperor, was deposed and with his passing a new era dawned for Rome as a republic once more.
This book is not a doorstop, it is actually a very readable length. Holland covered a lot of history, a lot of scandal and makes many suppositions. The true story of the Caesars is shocking and quite venal and Holland does not shy away from the nasty end of happenings. My only complaint is one which is fairly common in recent history books which appeal the more populist end of the market and that is that fact and fiction tend to blur at times. There is much interpretation of actions in terms of thoughts and feelings which are not necessarily backed by contemporaneous sources and therefore should be treated as fictional interpretations rather than fact. However that is a minor quibble because the actual material Holland has to work with is so juicy and almost fictitious in its outrage that this is a great read as well as being a well-researched tome.
This book is not a doorstop, it is actually a very readable length. Holland covered a lot of history, a lot of scandal and makes many suppositions. The true story of the Caesars is shocking and quite venal and Holland does not shy away from the nasty end of happenings. My only complaint is one which is fairly common in recent history books which appeal the more populist end of the market and that is that fact and fiction tend to blur at times. There is much interpretation of actions in terms of thoughts and feelings which are not necessarily backed by contemporaneous sources and therefore should be treated as fictional interpretations rather than fact. However that is a minor quibble because the actual material Holland has to work with is so juicy and almost fictitious in its outrage that this is a great read as well as being a well-researched tome.
8797999's review against another edition
5.0
Thoroughly enjoyed this book, a sequel to Rubicon - which followed Caesar and Augustus and the end of the Roman Republic. This book follows on with the lives of the Caesars from Augustus to Nero, although it does touch on the reign of Vespasian.
Fun and interesting throughout, just how history should be taught. There were some funny anecdotes such as the wealthy roman who was deemed depraved for having mirrors on his walls which enlarged certain appendages when used for getting his rocks off.
All in all a great book and superb author too, makes the subject accessible and hopefully encourages further delving into the wonderful history that is Roman (or ancient in general). I look forward to reading more by Tom Holland (not Spiderman) and luckily enough I have several of his books waiting on my bookshelf.
Fun and interesting throughout, just how history should be taught. There were some funny anecdotes such as the wealthy roman who was deemed depraved for having mirrors on his walls which enlarged certain appendages when used for getting his rocks off.
All in all a great book and superb author too, makes the subject accessible and hopefully encourages further delving into the wonderful history that is Roman (or ancient in general). I look forward to reading more by Tom Holland (not Spiderman) and luckily enough I have several of his books waiting on my bookshelf.
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating examination of the lives and reigns of the first five Roman emperors. Well written and effortlessly holds the attention of the reader. I will be looking for other books by Tom Holland.
kmoses87's review against another edition
3.0
I liked how in depth the boom was, and I definitely learned things about Rome and the emperors that I didn't know before. My only complaint is that sometimes the writing strayed a bit off topic, so I felt it could have been better organized.