Name: SPQR - A History of Ancient Rome
ISBN: 9780871404237

Mary Beard

A sweeping, revisionisthistory of the Roman Empire from one of our foremost classicists."

SPQR - A History of Ancient Rome

New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Foreign Affairs, and Kirkus Reviews Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award (Nonfiction) Shortlisted for the Cundill Prize in Historical Literature Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (History) A San Francisco Chronicle Holiday Gift Guide Selection A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A sweeping, "magisterial" history of the Roman Empire from one of our foremost classicists shows why Rome remains "relevant to people many centuries later" (Atlantic). In SPQR, an instant classic, Mary Beard narrates the history of Rome "with passion and without technical jargon" and demonstrates how "a slightly shabby Iron Age village" rose to become the "undisputed hegemon of the Mediterranean" (Wall Street Journal). Hailed by critics as animating "the grand sweep and the intimate details that bring the distant past vividly to life" (Economist) in a way that makes "your hair stand on end" (Christian Science Monitor) and spanning nearly a thousand years of history, this "highly informative, highly readable" (Dallas Morning News) work examines not just how we think of ancient Rome but challenges the comfortable historical perspectives that have existed for centuries. With its nuanced attention to class, democratic struggles, and the lives of entire groups of people omitted from the historical narrative for centuries, SPQR will to shape our view of Roman history for decades to come.

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

I didn’t know enough to listen to this one, but what I did understand and have context for was good.

Emily McMeans

At times a very good book. Very informative and with a lot of thought put into it's arguments, which are very well worded. It is a very dense book though, and at times can be difficult to follow. Still, overall I recommend for anyone interested in Roman history.

Ryan Ellison

Elda Mengisto

When I started reading this book, I assumed that it would be one mentioning all the big figures of the Roman Empire, along with the power moves which lead to its rise and downfall. The first surprise I got was the end date, which ended at 212 CE with every free inhabitant becoming a Roman citizen. It felt arbitrary for me, because I knew what was going to happen after that.

Yet everything inside this book provided the context for that very point. Beard starts off with the Catiline vs Cicero rivalry six hundred years after the foundations of Rome. What she calls "a clash between men of very different backgrounds....[standing] at, or very near, the top of Roman politics" (27) provided a prologue of sorts, in that it would set the stage for how this obscure town evolved into the center of the Mediterranean world.

Honestly, I found most of the book good, albeit one that drags on a little bit. While Beard provides a lot of information on the empire in a solid narrative, I get overwhelmed with the amount of detail she puts in. Sometimes, I find myself bored by it.

Yet there were some good chapters--I enjoyed looking into the day-to-day life of Romans through "The Home Front" and "The Haves and the Have Nots". The last chapter on "Rome Outside of Rome" also does a good job in detailing Rome's relations with minorities, which transitions well into the epilogue.

I enjoyed the book, but look forward to reading it again to absorb the story.