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Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
 
 
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Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (Paperback)

by Simon Baker (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: BBC Books (7 Jun 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1846072840
  • ISBN-13: 978-1846072840
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.6 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 5,944 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #7 in  Books > History > Europe > Pre-500
    #64 in  Books > History > World History

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Product Description

Review
"Rome is revealed as it really was - gritty, magnificent and sometimes pretty sordid. Splendid stuff."
-"Manchester Evening News
"
"Brings the distant past to fully fleshed life."
-"The Good Book Guide"
"Highly recommended."
-"Birmingham Evening Mail"
"An entertaining but rigorous antidote to the fast-and-loose-with-the-truth approach."
-"Radio Times"

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.

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing and gripping read !!, 5 Oct 2006
By Alan J. Stedall "yoss_uk" (Birmingham, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Ancient Rome, the Rise and Fall of an Empire (Hardcover)
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.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read, 23 Jun 2007
This review is from: Ancient Rome, the Rise and Fall of an Empire (Hardcover)
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.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, 17 May 2007
This review is from: Ancient Rome, the Rise and Fall of an Empire (Hardcover)
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.
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Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An endless bloodbath
This book, based on the splendid BBC TV-series (DVD not to be missed) is the story of a city `founded on murder'. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Luc REYNAERT

5.0 out of 5 stars History Ancient and Modern
As someone whose knowledge of Roman History was limited to Julius Caesar, Hadrian's Wall and the mistaken belief that the "Lays of Ancient Rome" was a report on the early history... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Neutral

5.0 out of 5 stars a great read!
I have just returned from a week sitting on a sun lounger by the side of a pool.
I intended to part read the book on holiday and finish it upon my return. Read more
Published 10 months ago by R. M. Tuson

5.0 out of 5 stars First class introducton
This must the best introduction to Roman history written so far, and one not likely to be superseded in a hurry. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Scipio2

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Worth Reading

For anyone interested in the history and events that took place in the Roman Empire this book is like manna from heaven. Read more
Published 14 months ago by J. Chippindale

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read
The true story of Rome is more fasinating, grand, treacherous, heroic, futile and inspiring than any film has yet portrayed. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mark Chivers

5.0 out of 5 stars Most readable history book I have ever read
This book almost feels like your reading a novell, the writer's style is not dry and boring like many books of it's kind, but is vibrant and desriptive. Read more
Published 17 months ago by N. Walters

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't think of it as a History Book, it's far too good .
I don't have the time to pore over musty old tomes with dry, boring language. I can't read anything unless it is engaging, with enough cheap thrills for someone with the attention... Read more
Published 19 months ago by P. Elliott

4.0 out of 5 stars A fast-paced, fascinating read
Without the tortuous lexicon and complex explanations of an academic, Simon Baker here provides a grand sweep of Ancient Roman history, zooming in to just a few key characters... Read more
Published 22 months ago by JK McLaren

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent broad history of Rome
This is an excellent history of Rome, from its earliest days. It is very readable and full of information which seems to have been passed over in other similar works. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2007 by A. J. Adey

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