Product Description

"Ancient Rome" is the story of the greatest empire ever known. Focusing on six momentous turning points that helped to shape Roman history, Simon Baker's gripping narrative charts the rise and fall of the world's first superpower - a political machine unmatched in its brutality, its genius, its lust for power. From the conquest of the Mediterranean beginning in the third century BC to the destruction of the empire at the hands of barbarian invaders some seven centuries later, we discoer the most critical episodes in Roman history: the spectacular collapse of the 'free' republic, the birth of the age of the 'Caesars', the violent suppression of the strongest rebellion against Roman power, and the bloody civil war that launched Christianity as a world of religion. At the heart of this account are the dynamic, complex but flawed characters of some of the most powerful rulers in history: men such as Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nero and Constantine. Putting flesh on the bones of these distant, legendary figures, Simon Baker looks beyond the dusty, toga-clad caricatures and explores the real motivations and ambitions, intrigues and rivalries. This is Rome as we've never seen it before - awesome and splendid, gritty and squalid. Accompanying a landmark BBC television series, "Ancient Rome" is a fresh, fast-paced history which addresses themes about the nature of power that are as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12150 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

About the Author
Simon Baker read Classics at Oxford University. In 1999 he joined the BBC's award-winning History Unit where he has worked on Timewatch and a wide range of programmes about the classical world. He was the Development Producer on the BBC One series Ancient Rome - The Rise and Fall of an Empire. This is his second book. Mary Beard is a Professor of Classics at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Newnham College. She has written widely on the history and culture of the ancient (and modern) world. Her most recent books are The Parthenon and (with Keith Hopkins) The Colosseum. She is Classics Editor of the Times Literary Supplement and her major study of the Roman Triumph will be published by Harvard University Press in 2007.

Customer Reviews

Absorbing and gripping read !!
I found it very difficult to put this book down.

Simon Baker takes a refreshingly novel approach to describe the centuries-long panoply of the rise and fall of the greatest empire the world has ever known.

Instead of plodding through the subject, the author chooses a number of critical events upon which the fate of the empire turned. He devotes a chapter to each of these events and commences each chapter by describing the circumstances surrounding the event; circumstances which often sound bafflingly inexplicable. He then narrates the story of the build-up that led to the event. As such, each chapter is an absorbing and fascinating story in its own right.

Baker writes in an engaging and unpretentious style and has managed to produce a book that is at once both exciting and educational; a difficult task to pull off.

Stepping back from the detail, I think the author does full justice to the Ancient Romans: A brave, clever, determined and brutal people, whose accomplishments and historic remains leave us astounded nearly two millennia later.

Well recommended.

Great Book
I was given this book at Christmas. I was immediately hooked on it as it presents Roman history in an interesting way. I have always been interested in Roman history so was great for me. All the information is presented in a easy to understand way, so that even if you have never read anything to do with Ancient Rome you will be able to read this with ease. There is an abundance of information that will greatly expand anyone's knowledge . The book has obviously been researched and a lot of time has been put into it. I awarded this book Five Stars as it is a very good read and I think you will not be able to put it down.

Excellent Read
For anyone interested in the Rome, its leaders and the Roman period, and like me ignorant of the facts that lead to its rise and fall. This a most enjoyable and informative book, full of facts that are easy to take in. Therfore I suggest if you have the slightest interest in Rome and the Roman period in history you go and buy this book.
I could not put this book down, finding it riveting and informative this book I rate high on my list as an excellent read.