Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town
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Review
'One of the best communicators on classics around' --Charlotte Higgins, Guardian
'If they'd had Mary Beard on their side back then, the Romans would still have their empire'
--Sam Leith, Daily Mail
'If they'd had Mary Beard on their side back then, the Romans would still have their empire'
--Sam Leith, Daily Mail
Review
`A myth-breaking expedition, grandiose in scale, vibrant in its telling' - Colin Gardiner, Oxford Times
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
78 of 82 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Professor Beard tells the tale of ancient Pompeii in a highly readable and authoritative way. Drawing from the work of historians and archaeologists present and past she transports the reader back to Pompeii's last days. Along the way assumptions are challenged about the number of brothels, or the date of the volcanic explosion which condemned the town into a memory. Wheel ruts and the rules of the road come alive. I suspect that a visit to Pompeii will never be the same again.
57 of 61 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
There has always been, since the first discovery, conflict over the meaning of the archeological findings. Some texts are more rigid than others, for example the splendidly illustrated 'Complete Pompeii' by Berry. This new volume has a more laid back approach and all, or at least most, of ones long set assumptions are questioned. So, this is not a guide to carry round the site but a superb contemplation of how life in the town might have been, Like the "Triumph', Prof. Beard shakes the established ideas and stimulates. I found it hard to put down.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Robert Harris' best-selling novel 'Pompeii' convincingly put flesh on the bones of the town's inhabitants. Mary Beard's historical survey does the same for the town itself.
Beard is careful to avoid distortion through over-simplification. She takes pains to stress, for example, that the reality of Pompeii's story is not the clichéd one of a town 'frozen in time' but a more complex and fascinating one altogether. First, she explains that many inhabitants upped sticks well before the fateful day in August 79, taking their treasures with them. Secondly, townspeople and looters alike had plenty of opportunity to salvage/steal valuables after the eruption. And thirdly, much of what we see today is, in fact, reconstruction - almost all of the upper levels of Pompeian buildings for a start. All of these things, together with 'aggressive restoration', Allied bombing and erosion mean that what we see today is far from the sealed capsule that time-travellers hope for.
Beard's Pompeii is an up to the minute account drawing upon much fascinating research - on studies of wheel ruts gouged into the town's shiny black-bouldered streets, for example, which indicate complex one-way traffic systems. Or of plaster casts of plant roots which help to identify crops.
Perhaps Beard's greatest gift is a no-nonsense directness that often cuts through academic over-speculation. For instance, following a discussion of what anthropologists call 'zoning' (in which sectors of a town are associated with particular functions or degrees of affluence), she concludes: 'the simple truth is that Pompeii was without the zoning we have come to expect.'
As ever, Beard's style is highly readable and her book is therefore as valuable to the general reader as to the student. Pompeii is exhilarating and unique. It has found the book it deserves.
Beard is careful to avoid distortion through over-simplification. She takes pains to stress, for example, that the reality of Pompeii's story is not the clichéd one of a town 'frozen in time' but a more complex and fascinating one altogether. First, she explains that many inhabitants upped sticks well before the fateful day in August 79, taking their treasures with them. Secondly, townspeople and looters alike had plenty of opportunity to salvage/steal valuables after the eruption. And thirdly, much of what we see today is, in fact, reconstruction - almost all of the upper levels of Pompeian buildings for a start. All of these things, together with 'aggressive restoration', Allied bombing and erosion mean that what we see today is far from the sealed capsule that time-travellers hope for.
Beard's Pompeii is an up to the minute account drawing upon much fascinating research - on studies of wheel ruts gouged into the town's shiny black-bouldered streets, for example, which indicate complex one-way traffic systems. Or of plaster casts of plant roots which help to identify crops.
Perhaps Beard's greatest gift is a no-nonsense directness that often cuts through academic over-speculation. For instance, following a discussion of what anthropologists call 'zoning' (in which sectors of a town are associated with particular functions or degrees of affluence), she concludes: 'the simple truth is that Pompeii was without the zoning we have come to expect.'
As ever, Beard's style is highly readable and her book is therefore as valuable to the general reader as to the student. Pompeii is exhilarating and unique. It has found the book it deserves.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent, well written, well done
What I like most about this book is not only the ability to the writer paint a vivid picture of Pompeii as it was two thousand years ago, but that she do it aiming to present... Read more
Published 2 months ago by B. Kjosnes
Pompeii: the Life of a Roman Town : Mary Beard
A down-to-earth, witty account of life in Pompeii. Mary Beard is not afraid to say that 'we don't know' and dismisses some of the wilder assumptions with practical good sense... Read more
Published 2 months ago by cookie
If you know nothing about Pompeii, this is a great start!
This is an excellent book that gives the reader a complete perspective on life may have been like at Pompeii. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Sukanya Ramanujan
COMPREHENSIVE BUT NOT MUCH NEW
The usual clear concise informative and interesting book from Ms Beard. Lots of info, but, along with a lot of information you also get an awful lot of maybe's, probably's... Read more
Published 5 months ago by A. Taylor
An ancient city comes alive
A refreshing and gripping read which gives insight into ancient Roman life, while exploding many myths, such as the date of the eruption, the size of the death count (maybe less... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Robert H
Pompeii The Life of A Roman Town
Excellent book and very readable. I would recommend it to both academics and tourists alike and a must for everyone visiting the site.
Published 11 months ago by Sue
Penultimate Book on Pompeii
Dr. Beard is one of the foremost Roman scholars of today. This book is not quite what you would expect from that. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Stuart McCunn
Very readable history
I found the TV programme fascinating and had to buy the book. This is even better - a very well researched, extremely readable history. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mondoro
Fantastic, Accessible & A Joy to read
I should of read this book years ago, it was only when I saw Mary's TV programme on Pompeii that I admonished myself for not reading it sooner. Read more
Published 14 months ago by JennyD
A brilliant book about a brilliant site
This was a very enjoyable book, and brought the town to life even for someone who hasn't been there (yet). Read more
Published 15 months ago by Ben Nicholson
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