Senatus Populus Que Romanus discussion

I was looking for a category on general Roman history in this book club but could not find one. Over the past year I have read The Immense Majesty: A History of Rome and the Roman Empire by Thomas Africa, Daily Life in Ancient Rome: The People and the City at the Height of the Empire by Jerome Carcopino, and most recently, How Rome Fell by Adrian Goldsworthy. All three were good. The last, my favorite of the three, made a good point for civil wars as the most important cause of Roman decline.

One of the most comprehensive and most readable is:
A History of Rome to 565 A. D.

We used it in college 30+ years ago, and I've recently reread it. The newer histories intended for college courses I find unreadable, for everything in broken into short articles, without narrative flow. This one has the flow to keep you reading.

Some other good ones are:


by Tim J. Cornell
and by H.H. Scullard

How about SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard -- from the beginning until 212 AD, when Emperor Caracalla made citizens of everyone in the Roman Empire--except slaves.

Yes, SPQR is excellent.

I can also recommend Tom Holland's Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic.