The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian: Amazon.co.uk: Robin Lane Fox: Books

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The Economist

'more epic that any toga-clad celluloid epic to date... [a] brilliant book...a story that is never cluttered and always stimulating'

Mary Beard, The Independent

'witty, ferociously learned, enormously well read'

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

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4.2 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classical History - Short, Sweet, Elegant, 21 Aug 2006

By	Withnail67 (UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Classical World: An Epic History of Greece and Rome (Paperback)

This is an outstanding sweep across hundreds of years of Classical Greek and Roman history by a very fine scholar with a well-tuned popular touch.

Ranging from the poet Homer in the 7th century BCE, to the Roman 'First Citizen' Hadrian surveying his empire from the Tyne to the Euphrates, Lane Fox communicates a lifetime experience of teaching the Classics in one compact volume, deliciously divided into chapters which can capture an era or event in one pre-sleep bite! His view is even handed, but his enthusiasm for figures such as Pliny and Cicero shine out. He also has a soft spot for gardeners...

This is an excellent starting point for further reading, with excellent and easily usable notes and bibliographies. The illustrations are fascinatingly discussed in an appendix. I especially enjoyed the careful modern nuances that alluded to 'spin' and 'regime change' - these can be clumsy in lesser writers, but they were revealing and apposite here.

A very very fine book covering a vital aspect of human history, and essential to fully understand the Western World with all its achievements, weaknesses and cruelties.

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55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Olympian in every sense, 13 Jan 2006

By	N. Rodgers "Nigel Rodgers" (England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Robin Lane Fox, well known for his books on Alexander, has here produced one of the best overviews of classical Greek and Roman history, from the emergence of preclassical Greece to its second coming, so to speak, under Hadrian, that most philhellenic of Romans. Urbane but enthusiastic, revealing an immense learning very lightly, Lane Fox is unashamedly narrative in his approach. Essentially a Hellenist, he is perhaps unfair to some of the Romans - especially to the emperor Augustus whose achievements as a ruler surely atone for his lack of appeal as a man. Both Homer's world at the book's start, and that of the emperor Hadrian at the book's end, were aristocratic. Although Lane Fox treats the rise and fall of Athenian democracy very favourably, his general viewpoint is also elevated, unfashionably. He concentrates on political and military events, rather ignoring cultural factors. For Greece especially, this is an omission. But overall, while his Olympian narrative may not impress some specialists, it will probably still be read with fascination and appreciation long after more reductionist works have been forgotten. Lane Fox stands firmly and deservedly in the grand narrative tradition of Gibbon.

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51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real tour de force, 21 Dec 2005

By	Mr. A. C. Gilbert "thegilb" (Chatel sur Rolle, Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

If you've ever wanted to delve into Classical history but have always felt put off by the kind of high-brow, donnish aura that surrounds the subject, then this is the book for you.
I don't mean by this that the book is "dumbed-down", far from it; Lane Fox has written a gripping, accessible account of the great Greek and Roman civilisations upon which Western society still stands. He is an absolute master of sources and stories, and weaves them together into a cogent whole. This is a book not just about the princes, philosophers and Emperors but about the entire classical societies of Greece and Rome. It feels like you're there yourself.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent as an overview
I found the book's strengths as:

1) It covered the full breadth of the ancient Greek and Roman period. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Dr. Saqib Qureshi

4.0 out of 5 stars A narrative stroll through 800 years of history
Engagingly written, this book sweeps through classical history, driven by a circular structure that begins and ends with Hadrian, the hellenophile Roman emperor. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Pipa Lonely

5.0 out of 5 stars easy to read
This book was easy to read and left me knowing a lot more about this exciting period of history.

Published 10 months ago by Mr. Graham Burns

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and Readable look at Classical Civilisation
I first came across Robin Lane Fox's work when I read his brilliant biography of Alexander the Great. Read more

Published 15 months ago by D. Evans

3.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious sweeping view of many different periods
Broad strokes indeed from the historical brush of Robin Lane Fox as he describes the world of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Adam Graham Malster

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative but a tiny bit tedious
This is a very informative and suitably brief history of ancient Greece and Rome. It covers a massive amount of ground in a short space of time and provides enough insight to... Read more

Published on 24 Oct 2007 by JG

2.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, but a bit dull
The prologue immediately launches into a bizarre screed about what defines classicism, which sets the tone for the book; painstakingly researched, but not light reading... Read more

Published on 23 Sep 2007 by D. M. Powell

3.0 out of 5 stars standard 'history' of Greece and Rome
This is undeniably a good, light read, but in some ways it is almost out of touch with the actual research occupying classicists working academically in the field. Read more

Published on 13 May 2007 by Roman Clodia

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Overview
For anyone whose knowledge of the classical world is largely drawn from Hollywood epics, the odd documentary or TV biopic and hazy memories of class projects, this book is an... Read more

Published on 14 Dec 2006 by Chuck E

5.0 out of 5 stars Greece and Rome alive again
My previous knowledge of Greek and Roman civilization comprised of isolated facts and factoids about their contribution to western civilization. Read more

Published on 14 Nov 2006 by Simon Loo

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	81% buy the item featured on this page: The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian 4.2 out of 5 stars (15)
	8% buy Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire 4.9 out of 5 stars (18) �6.85
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The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian (Hardcover)

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