BirthME, Doulas

For instance, any concept, event or personality that re-appears in the book after being mentioned or discussed in an earlier chapter is succinctly reintroduced. I'm not just talking about the murder of Julius Caesar, which was so brutal that it is still jolting to this modern reader. She is very sceptical of historical accounts and at time she seems to even question if Rome was as great as it is remembered. I enjoyed this book immensely! Mary Beard is undoubtedly a first class historian and an expert on Roman history. And that’s what many introductory history books sound like: “First this happened, then that happened”. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Please try againSorry, we failed to record your vote.

In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.Those interested in History of Rome with new research And it will come in very useful when you next visit an roman site or Rome itself. Beard's writing style is information rich without being too over complicated. Well worth sticking with and I have already gone back to read it again. The early time of the Romans is often over shadowed by the later periods of the Caesars and the roman period where Britain and Europe were under them, at the height of the empire. Please try againSorry, we failed to record your vote. Dame Mary is Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge, a fellow of Newnham College, and Royal Academy of Arts Professor of Ancient Literature. Please try againSorry, we failed to record your vote. Beard pays special attention to keeping the narrative snappy and clear. All the dirty little bits of the Roman Empire you didn't know. Introducing the Ancient Greeks: Ten Ways They Shaped the Modern World A major new BBC TV series presented by the author starts in May 2016. Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic And she doesn't look at Rome out of admiration, or as a guide to how the world works (the past repeats in the present, etc..) "The Romans were as divided about how they thought the world worked, or should work, as we are.

There are sections of the book that describe the jobs they performed, the housing they occupied, and how they spent their leisure hours. Please try againSorry, we failed to record your vote. Nonetheless, I read it all with great interest. For example, Robert Harris’s historical fiction trilogy about the life of Cicero (beginning with the novel “Imperium”) will give the reader some acquaintance with Cicero, Caesar, Lucullus, Pompey, Crassus, the Catilinarian conspiracy, the “cursus honorum” and other aspects of Ancient Roman history. Please try againSorry, we failed to record your vote.

“History is just one damned thing after another”, goes a famous quote. I put this book down the first time I read it, finding the early chapters hard to follow, as the early history of Rome is unverified and I did find all the possibilities and questioning of old stories a bit hard to keep up with. Neither is it a comprehensive narrative chronicle of the Roman Empire but rather Beard’s own account and speculations of the events and characters for the first 1,000 years of its existence.

She could have chosen to end her work during the reign of Alexander Severus, Commodus, or even Marcus Aurelius with no significant additions or omissions, though she does explain and justify her choice.Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2017 The august Cicero took a side, not from principle or for profit, but in a fit of pique when he was denied a minor honour.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 September 2018 In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. The author has done a spectacular job in making what I thought would be an interesting journey into a fascinating period of history a hard slog. That's fine, but to say that Beard is breaking new ground by writing about the Republic and early Empire is ridiculous, and to give the book such a broad subtitle is simpLet's get this out of the way: this is in no way a history of ancient Rome; this is a history of Rome from its mythical founding up till the year 212. (its a bit like the intro of lord of the rings)) you will get a great grounding in the foundation and important people of early Rome.