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8stitches 9lives's Reviews > Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine
Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine
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Ten Caesars is renowned historian Barry Strauss's condensed version of the Roman Empires Ten Greatest Emperors and hats off to him for making an often dry, tedious topic seem exciting and accessible. It allows the reader to learn about the ten most prominent Roman figures and seamlessly scroll through 300 years in time without the need to pick up a separate book to learn about each individual or different epochs.
I must admit, I used to despise history, primarily due to a teacher at school with a lacklustre approach, but since then I have thoroughly enjoyed educating myself on the myriad of topics history encompasses. Strauss is one of the very best for providing sound content in a manner which is eminently readable, regardless of your level of prior knowledge. The prose is crisp, engaging and easy to follow and the narrative full of intrigue.
You'd be unlikely to find a more trustworthy, captivating account of the empire than what Mr Strauss provides us with here; you can tell that it's all meticulously researched to ensure a solid basis and underpinning. The only reason for withholding a star is that in certain parts it did drag a little, but it was incredibly minor. Each account covers both the favourable and unfavourable aspects of the featured emperor's leading to what feels like a balanced, nuanced work of excellent quality and reliability. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for an ARC.
I must admit, I used to despise history, primarily due to a teacher at school with a lacklustre approach, but since then I have thoroughly enjoyed educating myself on the myriad of topics history encompasses. Strauss is one of the very best for providing sound content in a manner which is eminently readable, regardless of your level of prior knowledge. The prose is crisp, engaging and easy to follow and the narrative full of intrigue.
You'd be unlikely to find a more trustworthy, captivating account of the empire than what Mr Strauss provides us with here; you can tell that it's all meticulously researched to ensure a solid basis and underpinning. The only reason for withholding a star is that in certain parts it did drag a little, but it was incredibly minor. Each account covers both the favourable and unfavourable aspects of the featured emperor's leading to what feels like a balanced, nuanced work of excellent quality and reliability. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for an ARC.
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Finished Reading
March 4, 2019
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Don
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Mar 04, 2019 02:12PM
You should listen to Dan Carlin's hardcore history podcast. He give a perspective that changes how you feel about everything. On episodes on Hannibal, Persia, Rome and Mongols shows you the other side's perspective as historians like Strauss are only able to tell one side of the story. Roman history makes Game of Thrones look simple with how many twists and turns there are.
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Ooh, thanks for the heads up. Just looked him up and found what you're talking about. I'll definitely give it a listen. As I said I used to loathe history, so I am spending lots of time trying to satisfy my unquenchable thirst for knowledge on various topics. History was a subject I left school knowing virtually nothing about because the teacher was horrendous. I am making up for that now though, and love it! I certainly surprised myself on that front.
You're right! Even in this book, I was gobsmacked by some of the happenings described. Absolutely fascinating.
This book is a high interest!! Always enjoy reading Roman history
