The Greeks surpassed them in learning, the Celts in bravery, the Germans in strength, the Etruscans in technology, and the Carthaginians in commerce. But it was the Romans who built the greatest empire the world has ever seen. Already a bestseller in Japan, China and Korea, acclaimed Japanese historian Nanami SHIONO’s fifteen-volume series-now available for the first time in English-takes readers on a thousand-year odyssey beginning with the city’s mythical founding by a humble shepherd raised by a she-wolf.
*CONTENTS* A Note to Readers of the English Edition Preface Introduction Chapter One: The Birth of Rome Chapter Two: Republican Rome Chronology References About the Series and Author
I just re-read the volumn number one (out of total 15 volumes) again since the last time I read in college 10 years ago back in 1998.
What a (hi)story!
I've read it in Korean translation. One woman's quest to find her own answer to a simple question, "What was an ancient Roman like?"
She found her answer in 15 years after writing 15 volumes on the topic.
Reading her writing did so much more to me than simply answering that question.
It stuck me as amazing how one's dedication and devotion to answer one simple question could amount to such a huge accomplishment in a long enough time.
I have many questions in life but not as much devotion and dedication for answers to any one particular question.
Maybe it's time for me to narrow down the questions I want some real answer to and focus my energy in answering them. Maybe then, my effort will amount to something that I will be satisfied of achieving.
Some historians are concerned that this series is used as a textbook of roman history pointing out there are some critical errors in the interpretation of historical records and the author's biased view. Nanami Shiono, the author, admits herself that she is not a historian, so this book should be enjoyed as a fiction. Having said that, she wrote this epic based on a massive amount of historical literature including those written by ancient historians such as Livy's "History of Rome," Polybius’s "The Histories" and Plutarch's Parallel Lives. Even if biased, the author saves her readers time and effort to read those literature to get a glimpse into rise of the ancient Rome. I am lucky that I haven't been to Italy yet. Without reading this series, my impression of all the great ruins would be just "Wow, parts of such an old civilization can still be seen after more than 2000 years." But if you know how the Roman Forum was built, the ruins must look totally different.
This book deserves it. It is a fantastic historical account of the beginning of the Roman empire in proper historical context (with regard to surrounding empires Greeks etc).
If I had the time I would love to read the whole series. It is definitely high up on my "Want to read" list!
Easy reading, very interesting and inspiring.Reading history book has never been so much fun. I finished reading the other half of the book on the airplane from Seattle to Kaua’i, and it is definitely better entertainment for a flight that has no movie and internet.
Great book! Goals-Open minded-Problem-solving abilities = Roman Empire The political system in Ancient Rome really surprised me. Not even modern society can achieve what Ancient Rome has achieved.
Why Roman Empire was so successful though they were not as intellectual as the Greeks, nor as strong as the Guals, or as commercially versed as the Carthage? You will find answers in this book.