Vote for Caesar: How the Ancient Greeks and Romans Solved the Problems of Today

by Peter V. Jones

The expansion of the congestion charge zone, prices going up on the Underground, bendy buses—all are ideas brought about to try to make the traffic situation in London run more smoothly. Surely there must be a better way? In fact there is. In Roman times, when the streets were even more crowded, Caesar decreed that all vehicles (except those involved in building work) were banned from the city, while Nero took advantage of a major fire to broaden the streets to improve access. Whatever the problem, from the leader whose deputy wants to replace him to the question of how to make democracy really work, you can guarantee that our Classical forebears faced the same situation and came up with some far more effective solutions than current politicians. In this enthralling, informative, and hugely entertaining book, a leading Classicist highlights just how much there is to learn from the past and how things really were once so much better.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Politics, Ancient

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Peter Jones (sometimes credited as Peter V. Jones) is a former lecturer in Classics at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, a writer and journalist. Jones has regularly written on Classics for major newspapers, and was awarded the MBE in 1983. He is a Cambridge graduate.

Jones' popular work has been focused on introducing new generations to Ancient Rome and Greece, from newspaper columns to crossword collections, popular non-fiction, and charitable organisations devoted to helping keep Classics subjects in schools.

Reviews

[Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has much of interest to recommend it to those interested in the societies and structures of ancient Rome and Athens. However, the book is ruined by the excessive and entirely unnecessary commentary by the author who cannot resist imposing his unpleasant political world view on the book. Read it, but make sure you can stomach a commentary which would find a home in the worst pages of the Daily Mail or Telegraph. Give him a series on Fox News!

[ouliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

this man just hates his government

[Victoria Roe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally finished this. For a short book, it certainly took me a while to get through.
Despite being initially promising, I was a bit disappointed with it in the end. The bits actually describing the classic civilisations were great but there weren't enough of them. Instead, nearly every page contained a snotty remark about the author's own political views, often actually ascribed to the ancients themselves, e.g., "I suspect the Greeks/Romans would have found this ridiculous." That always felt out of place - either back it up with evidence or don't say it!
What made it even worse (for me) was that the author has diametrically opposed political views to myself, so a lot of the comments felt particularly snippy. I'd have had no problem if both left and right had been criticised equally but that was not the case. That was, in the main, why I found it difficult to read for longer than a chapter at a time. In places, it felt unbearably vitriolic and sarcastic with no attempt at constructive criticism. I didn't pick this book up to get a preaching about the evils of socialism, I wanted to learn more about the Greeks and Romans. When the author stuck to what he knew about, the book was engaging and informative (I found the bits about science particularly interesting having just read Science and Poetry), but, a bit like Midgeley's book, there wasn't enough of that to keep me interested. Next time, keep your own views out of it!

[Midgetbee · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's some interesting information in here about how the Ancient Greeks and Romans lived and how they lived their lives...unfortunately it's all but obscured by the author's ranting about how shit everything in modern life is. The Government and taxes get a thorough kicking, with the answer to life's problems being - apparently - a return to the days where taxes were nonexistent and things like the local library and roads coming about as a result of rich people's generosity. Yeah, I can totally see that one working out well.

Less a history book than an opportunity for the author to complain for a few hundred pages about multiculturism, Gordon Brown, taxes, compulsory education and young people. Save your money and pick and pick up a copy of the Daily Mail instead.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has been on my bookshelf for years so read it to get it over with as much as anything. When he sticks to the Greeks and Romans, it's ok. But it's full of awful, conservative (small and big C) 'opinion'. Do not recommend.

[Katrien · Rating 1 out of 5]

Altijd benieuwd om bij te leren over de Grieken en Romeinen, leek dit me een interessante invalshoek.
Maar, en het is een grote maar, de auteur is zo cynisch over de hedendaagse maatschappij en zo doordrongen van zijn eigen gelijk dat het een moeilijk te doorworstelen boek werd, voor mij althans.
De auteur is een grote tegenstander van de huidige verzorgingsstaat, zou af willen van politiekers en belastingen en idealiter terug in alles een directe stem hebben. De directe democratie zoals in Athene.
Men weze gewaarschuwd...

[Joseph Bevitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love discovering random and obscure tidbits of information about ancient societies, so Jones' humorous book on the religious and scientific beliefs, attitudes and political systems of the Ancient Greeks and Romans was really fun to read. Sure, he does takes the piss out of today's (British) society and illustrates how far our political systems have both advanced and degraded from the high-moral frameworks of their originators, however Jones' portrayal of ancient society in direct juxtaposition to our current way-of-life makes this an easy yet provocative read, and serves as a great introduction to our cultural beginnings.

The bibliographies at the end of each chapter are evidence of a Jones' use of original texts and efforts in compiling the manuscript, and serve to encourage the reader to explore ancient culture and consider ways in which our current, complex society could be improved by re-considering some of the problems that the Ancients had encountered. For reference, Peter Jones is a Patron of "The Iris Project", a highly successful educational charity that aims to bring ancient languages and culture back into inner-city schools and communities. This book is therefore well placed as an introductory text for the "inner-city community", and a far more enlightening read than the daily metro tabloid.

[Mikhail Belyaev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Примечательный сбор античных анекдотов с параллелями к анекдотическим ситуациям в современной Британии.
Большой плюс - нескрываемый скептицизм автора по отношению к патерналистскому "государству всеобщего благоденствия", левацкому разрушению традиционных институтов, неконтролируемой иммиграции.

Merged review:

Сборник небольших эссе, в которых автор пытается сравнить свои представления о жизни в Античном мире со своими - довольно критическими - представлениями о жизни в современной Британии. С элементами английского юмора.
Мне понравился раздел, посвященный описанию правовой системе классических Афин. Очень удачно с т.з. ясности и четкости формулировок. Несколько неожиданных примеров.

[Russell James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jokes and polemics mixed with up-to-date and deliberately provocative commentary, contrasting how the ancient world was run and how it is mismanaged today. You might have thought that life under the tyrants, despots and Caesars must have been unbearable - and yet, suggests Jones with his tongue not too firmly in his cheek, those men knew what they were about, whereas we moderns . . . There is a lot of learning here, and his outrageous argument is not as easily countered as you might think. Read, ponder and enjoy.

[Matt Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A somewhat humorous comparison between ancient Greece and Rome to contemporary issues. From slavery to medicine, democracy to philosophy, Jones does a good job of explaining to readers that while life has never been better, in many ways society has moved in an interesting tangent from the ideals held by these ancient civilizations.