A History of Rome

A very, very good book. It help explain the entire strata of Roman society. It aslo helped open my eyes on not just the rise of Rome but the end of Rome also. A must for any serious student of Roman history.

Marcel Le Glay et al's History of Rome was the first History book on Rome I read. The book was relatively well written, and took an interesting look on Rome's decline. Unfortunately, it focused largely on the Leaders and the royal/imperial families of Rome; the book tended to focus more on their lives then on the Roman Empire's history itself. The section on Augustus was thorough and very interesting. The middle and end of the book were especially good, but the beginning lacked detail. There is an absence of information on this part of Rome's history, and the book tended to breifly talk about important events during those 500 years. The book's examination on the culture of the Roman Empire I find is much too succinct. For its brevity it was excellent; it is admirable that one can write such a tasteful book in such small space. If one wants a helpful guide to the entire history of Rome pick up this book.

This book truly got me reading more in depth in Roman History. I've read other Roman History books for instence, The Roman Empire by Colin Welles, and Roman Provincial Administration by J. S. Richardson and this was in a league of its own. Le Glay and compatriots made A History of Rome very enjoyable. Truthfully, I had a hard time putting the book down. This book deserves 5 stars.