The Ancient Romans

by Chester G. Starr

An account of Roman civilization which brings into view the achievements of Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Hadrian, and St. Augustine

Genres: History, Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 1971

Reviews

[Edwina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent account of the ancient Roman Empire - from origins to collapse. It is well-written and easy to read. It includes enough detail so that the reader learns substance, but not too much detail to bore someone who isn't a history buff. It's a good overview book. Also, it is divided up into 4 eras with 4 people discussed in depth to talk about these 4 eras. That made it easier to organize things in my head and to remember things. Finally, I have to make note that this book was written in 1971. Therefore some of the authors ideas are outdated (i.e. I'm guessing population decline and demographic transition wasn't as well understood back then as it is today). For the most part the author presents facts and history, but he does occasionally comment on it, which made the book more interesting since it forced me to evaluate the historical fact I just read and decide if I agreed with his commentary or not.

[Austin Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3.5 is probably about right. The book is a good introduction to the full history of Rome, and helpfully includes primary source excerpts. It's better treated as a summary, however, than a thorough treatment of the details.

[Peter Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A local used bookstore has history books for .50-2.00. I picked up a stack about Rome. This was the first one off the stack. A solid introduction to Rome. Not in-depth, but helpful for the novice and has a lot of rabbit trails about different things that are helpful. Also he takes Christianity seriously, which I appreciate.