The Spartacus War
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'A thrilling account' (INDEPENDENT )
Product Description
Spartacus was a Thracian gladiator who started a prison breakout with 74 men, armed with kitchen knives. It grew into a full scale rebellion against Rome, the most famous slave revolt in history. With an army of gladiators, ex-slaves and other desperadoes, he managed to defeat a succession of Roman armies and bring the Republic to its knees.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have read just about all the english speaking, biographies on Saprtacus and feel that this book offers perhaps the most in-depth analysis and is the most thorough in terms of research - though is perhaps not the most exciting version on the market. A worth while read and fascinating due to the subject matter alone but could have been even better - greater insight into battle strategies of rebel 'thracian' warfare tactics/ or similar tactics by hill side warriors of the time, photos of some of the sites perhaps, greater insight into the lives of gladiators generally, less emphais on 'the wife of Spartacus' - a chapter which I felt was over-played considering the historical source material available. What does modern day Bulgaria have to say about Spartacus or Thracian life in roman times? I feel Saprtacus' decison to not cross the alps was lacking in coverage and incomplete - is it possible to get weather reports for this age? Was the weather the factor for not crossing or was heading for the north a ruse to collect an army and then head for Sicilly - the breadbasket for Ancient Rome and site of major slave rebellions prior to that of Spartacus. I felt big issues warranted more debate and proposals. I had so many questions and items I was longing and hoping to see covered but were not. A good read yes but unfulfilling in many ways - which to be fair may be as much down to the lack of historical sources as to the writer himself. Probably the most comprehensive account for those who have not read a biography on Spartacus but doesn't add a great deal to what others have already said in other biographies.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a very well-written and informative book about the slave revolt led by Spartacus, bearing in mind the small amount of contemporary evidence available. Because of this, Spartacus himself is just a name. The author is able to give us a reasonable picture of what went on at the time, and quite a few of the main actors can be fleshed out, but there is a lot of interpretation and probability flying about. However, the use of snippets of contemporary evidence allows the author to build a readable and plausible narrative of events. The only thing missing is the motivation of Spartacus. The author tries to show us the mind-set of the various `barbarian' tribesmen involved in the revolt, but those of us who have read Terry Jones' Barbarians know that the term is `prejudicial' at best. That's not to say the author is wrong, of course, but his is just an interpretation of what happened, albeit a readable and plausible view.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
On page 166 the author asserts, "Spartacus was a failure against Rome but a success as a myth maker... Who, today, remembers Crassus? Pompey. Even Cicero is not that well remembered. Everyone has heard of Spartacus." Well yes they have but that's probably because of the Kurbick film (the one where Michael Douglas's dad played the eponymous hero). And we do remember a great deal of Roman history - Cicero has a following both factual and fictional.
Barry Strauss has written an account of the rebel slave rebellion but the problem is he has next to nothing to tell us that is not speculation. What happened between 73-71 BC is fragmented and often contradictory. Perhaps padding, Strauss presents much basic information on Ancient Rome. Often his comments are reductive to the point of being unhelpful. For example in describing the life of a gladiator, it was more complicated. As for Crassus, who dispatched Spartacus after a six-month campaign, he went on to suffer one of Romes' greatest military defeats. He was presented as a one-dimensional character.
Strauss wrote an excellent book - The Trojan War A New History - where he interpreted Homer (the Iliad and Odyssey) with the archaeological evidence and made clever deductions. He told a great story, good scholarship written with clarity. There is no significant written source or material evidence about Spartacus, the coalition of Thracians, Celts, Germans and the politics of holding a large revolt together. Drawing on bits of information, he speculates about the possible objectives of the rebels, details their flight North, then South, the near escape to Scilly. Their defeat by trained legionnaires, brutally disciplined and well equipped was inevitable. It was a bloody business, half a dozen Roman generals humiliated, skirmishes and battles. Who, when and where aside, the revolt was made far more dangerous given Rome's wars in the West (Spain) and East (Mithridates). Could Rome have imploded? No need to speculate, it did not.
I wonder if Strauss would have been better to take the "Troy formula" and apply it to an area where the written sources are better, perhaps Josephus and the Great Jewish Revolt or Caesar's Gallic War. Here is a substantive body of contemporary writings to review and interpret, apply his deductive expertise. This book is entry level Roman history. A lot of us read on holiday or on a plane, this is not a criticism rather a recommendation for this book if you want to enjoy a low intensity myth and legend history. If you know a little of Rome, this will encourage you to read further but if you know more, and it is not Strauss' fault, this is a frustrating book given the poverty of sources.
Barry Strauss has written an account of the rebel slave rebellion but the problem is he has next to nothing to tell us that is not speculation. What happened between 73-71 BC is fragmented and often contradictory. Perhaps padding, Strauss presents much basic information on Ancient Rome. Often his comments are reductive to the point of being unhelpful. For example in describing the life of a gladiator, it was more complicated. As for Crassus, who dispatched Spartacus after a six-month campaign, he went on to suffer one of Romes' greatest military defeats. He was presented as a one-dimensional character.
Strauss wrote an excellent book - The Trojan War A New History - where he interpreted Homer (the Iliad and Odyssey) with the archaeological evidence and made clever deductions. He told a great story, good scholarship written with clarity. There is no significant written source or material evidence about Spartacus, the coalition of Thracians, Celts, Germans and the politics of holding a large revolt together. Drawing on bits of information, he speculates about the possible objectives of the rebels, details their flight North, then South, the near escape to Scilly. Their defeat by trained legionnaires, brutally disciplined and well equipped was inevitable. It was a bloody business, half a dozen Roman generals humiliated, skirmishes and battles. Who, when and where aside, the revolt was made far more dangerous given Rome's wars in the West (Spain) and East (Mithridates). Could Rome have imploded? No need to speculate, it did not.
I wonder if Strauss would have been better to take the "Troy formula" and apply it to an area where the written sources are better, perhaps Josephus and the Great Jewish Revolt or Caesar's Gallic War. Here is a substantive body of contemporary writings to review and interpret, apply his deductive expertise. This book is entry level Roman history. A lot of us read on holiday or on a plane, this is not a criticism rather a recommendation for this book if you want to enjoy a low intensity myth and legend history. If you know a little of Rome, this will encourage you to read further but if you know more, and it is not Strauss' fault, this is a frustrating book given the poverty of sources.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps
If Barry Strauss uses the words "perhaps", "possibly" and "might have" a little more than other historians of the Third Servile War, that is only because he is brutally honest... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jonathan Clements
Really good read
I found this a real page turner. I find it odd that one or two have spoken ill of the amount of specualtion on events. If the source material doesn't exist it doesn't exist. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Pagiccus
The Roman machine
Whenever we are moved to admire the achievements of the Ancient Greeks and Romans - and they were prodigious - we should always keep in the back of the mind the fact that their... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Xenophon
Spatacus Who ?
In all honesty I believe the author did a lot of research for his book, but the trouble is, there is very very little known about Spartacus. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Blondie
Pure Speculation
Nothing against the author, who has done a resonable job with little testimony availible, but the big part of this book is entirely speculation and imagination. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Neil Hugh Holliday
Hats off to Barry Strauss
Little more than 4000 words about Spartacus survive from ancient texts. Placed alongside what we know about other events or aspects of Roman history, this is a paltry amount. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ben Kane
Great story, average book
I had seen the famous film and a few documentaries about Spartacus so I bought this book wanting to get a bit more detail. That's exactly what I got- "a bit more detail. Read more
Published 21 months ago by J. Duducu
Excellent book - go and buy it
My knowledge of Spartacus - like most people - comes from the Kirk Douglas film and, now, the wonderfully gory and sexy TV show on Bravo so reading this book was a corrective. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Kentspur
Good solid stuff.
I have waited several years for a good solid account of the Spartacus rebellion and bought this with great anticipation. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Iphidaimos
Dreams of Freedom from the dredges of Drudgery !.
Barry Strauss pen's a good account of one, if not,the best known revolt of imperial Rome. It is true that the film Spartacus ( 1960 ) has played a large part in bringing the revolt... Read more
Published 22 months ago by A. Tomlinson
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