The Romans: An Introduction

by Kevin M McGeough

The Romans provides an accessible introduction to the history, society, and scholarship of one of the most captivating and enduring civilizations in human history. From the establishment of the monarchy and the Republican era to the decline of the Empire, this comprehensive volume examines every aspect of Roman culture from both historical and archaeological perspectives. In addition to surveying the well-estbalished subjects of Roman history, author Kevin McGeough discusses the latest events in the archaeological investigation of Rome, such as the recent excavations at the Temple of Castor and Pollux in the Roman Forum and the controversial identification of an ossuary thought by some to hold the body of James, the brother of Jesus. The text is accompanied by carefully chosen illustrations, maps, a glossary, and chronology. Throughout, general readers and students will gain a vivid understanding of Roman civilization and of why it still captures our imagination today.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[dill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty sturdy introduction to the Romans, it covers a good range of decades and themes. It does what it sets out to do pretty well- covering bases, establishing themes and ideas, and introducing further reading to look into. It wasn't always written in the most exciting way, but that's to be expected for a textbook I suppose. I do wish it had tried to include a bit more detail, though. There's lots of points where it oversimplifies an event or idea a bit much, and plenty of points where I feel there's room for an elaboration. I won't hold it against the book too much, given the purpose of the book is to just introduce ideas, but a bit more time dealing with certain aspects would have been nice. Either way, it's a really good way to get into Roman history if you're unfamiliar, and it condenses a really wide, varied timespan into a format that's coherent, understandable, and logical.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fine introduction to ancient Rome. It's organized thematically, and has a bit of an archaeological focus. Bizarrely, there is essentially nothing on Christianity. I found it a useful book.