The First Century: Emperors, Gods and Everyman

by William K. Klingaman

An engrossing popular history of the major events and people at the time of Jesus, the Roman Empire, and the Han Dynasty.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, World History, China, Roman History, Middle East

402 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely well-written, engaging account of the global (Eurasian) system of the first century CE through the eyes/experience of the chief powerbrokers of the era, mainly those in Rome, Judea, Parthia, China. From their perspectives, the continental mechanisms of exchange that were emerging offered considerable reward even as they required considerable regulation and supervision. The biographic approach allows the author to cast light on the cultural underpinnings as well as the political and military methods employed in lahying the foundations for a vast Eurasian market; their achievements are quite remarkable given the limited technology of the times. The methods employed and the severe character flaws of key players inspire in the reader great sympathy for the mass of people who had to endure the consequences of the policies the emperors pursued. The dangers of autocracy are clearly on display, but the horrors of anarchy are no less obvious. Utterly absorbing tale of how power was concentrated, used and abused and harnessed in support of such vast enterprises. The Silk Road's linkage of east and west was particularly enlightening, its role often goes ignored by histories that treat Eurasia as if it were two, distinct continents and therefore ignore the enormous strategic signficance of the mid-east...

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plugged as "Emperors, Gods and Everyman", this book has a distinct lack of "everyman". While this is a decent popular history book with an interesting slant (it runs parallel chapters on the Roman Empire, Early Christianity and the Han Dynasty -mostly - through the First Century), but it is 60% politital/military, 30% religious, and 10% social history. As a result, the common man gets short shrift.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Klingaman should have kept his focus on Rome and Israel or fairly apportioned a share of the book to China. China is sprinkled into the book and it reads oddly that way.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is difficult for me to rate this, for at first I enjoyed it - especially the style of alternating between China and Rome, giving a much more complete picture of the 1st century than most Euro-centric history books do - but by the end I found it extremely tedious, rather dull, spurned on too much by the author's pop psychologizing and inability to make his long-dead cast of characters come alive. While it seemed over the first three decades that relatively equal treatment was being given to both China and Rome (with some for Germany, Judea, etc. as relevant), by the end it seemed all too apparent that the author had no interest in the 1st century following the death of Christ, skimming over much, and giving only a couple pages at a time to China. The Roman Emperor Nerva was given all of two lines! Definitely not a book that I would recommend, despite the fact that the author seemed to make frequent use of the primary sources, a tactic I have traditionally found appealing, but, with Klingaman, failed miserably. Yeah, I guess 2 stars is about right, but if half-stars were available, I may very well be debating whether or not this book deserves 1.5 or 2.5.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better (and more interesting) coverage of the Roman empire than of events in China.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is a highly readable brisk romp through the histories of Rome, Judea, and China during the first decades of the Common Era once known as Annos Domini. (or something akin to that - I don't know how Latin plurals work). The Roman and Judean parts are like a mash-up of I, Claudius and the Bible, though with a greater attention to facts than legends.

The Chinese chapters are fascinating in themselves, but I confess I found myself eagerly hoping to get back to the machinations in the Roman world, or the slowly developing popularity of Jesus and the expansion of Christianity vying with the constant infighting of Jewish leaders. It was especially interesting to have all these familiar (and less familiar) events put into a timeline that showed what was going on in different parts of the world simultaneously.

All this and the conquering of Britain by Rome, too!

[Mike Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent overview of such a pivotal period in the world's history.

[Dave B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good in between book. Learned a lot more info on the Roman and Chinese empires and ruled during this time and a lot more that lead up to those points in time

[Brenlyee Meaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most important historical books I’ve ever read, explained the situation in 1st century Israel more clearly than anything else I’ve read.

[Berry Muhl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for anyone wanting to understand Western civilization (although it ends several centuries before such a picture could possibly be completed).

I like Klingaman's writing, which is reasonably urbane and witty, although there are odd errors from time to time that should have been caught in editing (such as mention of the proto-Vietnamese annual tribute to the Chinese empire, which consisted of "ivory, spices, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and spices"). He divides his time between Rome, Judea and China, although Rome gets the most attention, and his discussions of the lives of the first century emperors is particularly lively and detailed.

[Sandra D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at a library book sale and, when it finally shuffled to the top of my to-read pile, I cringed because I haven't had much luck trying to read ancient history. It doesn't seem to be my cup of tea.

It was a pleasant surprise then to find in this book such an engaging study of a tumultuous period of the Roman Empire, from the reign of Augustus through the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the siege at Masada.

My only quibble is that the Chinese chapters didn't seem to belong here at all. I kept waiting for the connection to become clear, but it never did.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt like Klingaman wrote three books - one on Rome, one on Judea, and another on China - dismantled them, and then reassembled them as one book, but without any transition. At least Judea and Rome have a clear cut connection; I wasn't exactly sure what the connection between Rome and China was save for the fact that they both existed in the first century. Parts of this book were actually very interesting, but overall, this felt like a disjointed mess.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever overview of China, Jerusalem and the Roman Empire during the first century CE, with the weight of the book focused on the Roman Empire. Entertaining and informative.

[Jennifer Lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to put down...well researched as well.