The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World's Greatest Empire by Anthony Everitt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am a nerd. And my love (bordering on obsession?) for Ancient Rome has even made me more of a nerd. Not many people my age (or any age for that matter) possess this kind of dedication to the memory of one of the greatest empires the world has ever known (this is a fact and not pure gushing on my part).
It is because of this love (not just for Ancient Rome, but for history in general) that I recommend The Rise of Rome to other enthusiasts of Ancient Roman history and culture. The way Anthony Everitt wrote this book — so lucid and so compelling at the same time. If only all history textbooks were like this!
Taking the "variable nature of literary sources" on Ancient Roman history, the author interestingly (and effectively) divided the book into three parts: "Legend, the age of the kings, where most of the events never took place, at least not in the manner described; Story, the conquest of Italy and constitutional conflict, where fact and fiction cohabit; and History, the Republic as a Mediterranean power, where the literary sources make a serious attempt at objectivity and accuracy." Just the way I would tell Rome's story, if given the chance haha (the book opened with the story of the Trojan War, one of my favorite childhood tales) :D
When people ask me why I love Ancient Rome so much, I just tell them that a historical power such as Rome cannot just exist so posterity can forget about it. Luckily for me, Mr. Everitt has given me two new answers to share :)
1) "The remote past is worth the trouble of exhuming because the Romans remain relevant to us. They still inspire us, still have an effect on how we view social, political, and moral values. We live in a world they made."
2) "The idea of Rome is imprinted on our genes. It has generated proverbs, maxims, and phrases that we use in our everyday lives with scarcely a thought for their old significance: all roads lead to Rome, the grandeur that was Rome, when in Rome do as the Romans do, Rome wasn’t built in a day, Rome the eternal city."
Roma Victor! :D
View all my reviews
