Ancient Rome

by Nigel Rodgers

A complete history of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, chronicling the story of the most important and influential civilization the world has ever known * Over 1000 colour photographs, fine art paintings, battleplans, maps, architectural cross sections and artworks reveal the glory and the might of ancient Rome * An authoritative account of Roman imperial, military and political power, and of classical Rome's far-reaching influence on Western culture, architecture and art

Over 850 colour photographs
Over 140 illustrations

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World History, Reference, Ancient History, Roman History

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Nigel Rodgers, who has a degree in history and history of art from Cambridge University, has written widely on history, philosophy and art. (Barnes and Noble)

Reviews

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

In what is surely a record for me, it took 20 months to read this book, as I read pieces at a time. However, that doesn't mean it still wasn't a very informative read. Almost all the info was organized into manageable one or two page spreads, and the prose was quite accessible for a history book. Some information seemed to be repeated, a minor deduction, but overall a good book for fans of Roman history.

[Frank Steinborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent broad-scoped overview of Ancient Rome and Roman life in easily digestible chapters. It's more about breadth than depth, so a very good choice as a first introduction to Ancient Rome.

[Miranda W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for an upcoming trip to Rome (woohoo!). While it's very accessible and is appropriate for teens and young adults, it also seems fairly simplistic compared to more focused histories of Rome like SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome or anything by Mike Duncan (not that I've read these yet). For instance, there are sections called "The Archetypal Empire" and "The World's First Superpower" which, while not totally off the mark, come across as a bit hyperbolic.

While this may not be a scholarly tome, it is a dense book and it does give a very thorough overview. I would've appreciated more information on the lives of everyday people, though (the main focus is on emperors, elites, politics, governance, and defense). Hopefully, I'll have a chance to read some of the more specialist histories to fill in the gaps.

Additionally, while the photographs are fantastic, a lot of the formatting is not as neat as I would like - there are timelines, for instance, but I found them difficult to parse. And the images come with captions which is great, but the font can be hard to distinguish from the main text. It is a lot of information and probably could have been organized in a more visually appealing way for a book that is basically in coffee table format. Overall, though, it serves its purpose!

[Mert Yazıcı · Rating 4 out of 5]

İnanılmaz kapsamlı bir Antik Roma tarihi. Her konu hakkında bilgi var. Tek sıkıntı dili biraz sıkıcı ve bazı konuları ilginizi çekmiyorsa okurken sıkılabiliyorsunuz.

[Ciera · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a non-fiction book, I enjoyed it a lot. Nigel Rodgers makes the writing easy to read and understand. He gives a broad history of Rome starting with their Etruscan origins all the way to the fall. I have always loved learning about Ancient Rome and this book really filled some of the gaps in my knowledge.

[Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at Rome: their elite, armies, forms of worship, their victories and defeats.

Rome practically invented the lush lifestyle we associate with their and other cultures such as Greece.

Lush with photos, drawings and maps,this book is one every member of the entire family

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, broad-scoped escapade through Roman History whose topics of normally two-page sections run the gamut, from the simple "Emperors of Rome" to the obscure "Hairtyles and Cosmetics."