"Social Conflicts in the Roman Republic" is a decent sketch of Roman history from the early Republic until Augustus. Don't let the title fool you - it's pretty much straight-up political history with a slightly social bent. The book is short (only 164 pp.) but well written and occasionally insightful. People engaged in deep scholarship should stay away from this book, because Brunt almost never cites his sources, but for the rest of us who want to get a quick overview of the republic in a night or two, this book could be useful.