The World of Rome: An Introduction to Roman Culture

by Peter Jones and Keith C. Sidwell

Book Overview

The World of Rome is an introduction to the history and culture of Rome for anyone seriously interested in the ancient world. It covers all aspects of the city--its rise to power, what made it great and why it still engages and challenges us today. Frequent quotations from ancient writers and numerous illustrations make this a stimulating and accessible introduction to ancient Rome. The book is particularly designed to serve as a background to Reading...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521386004
• ISBN13: 9780521386005
• Release Date: May 1997
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 423 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Enjoyable read, especially for social history

I bought this book while traveling and finished the better half of it before arriving home two days later. The core of the book provides an excellent overview of Roman culture in Geertz's sense of culture as what one would need to know to exist in everyday life as a member of the society. Despite the ambition of such a scope, I found the book to be extremely well organized with minimal repetition. There are very interesting discussions of such things as the economy, family, class, and slaves/freedmen. Each is a very solid introduction to the topic and interesting enough to provoke further inquiry through specialty works -- though unfortunately the lack of bibliographic or footnote references to secondary scholarship means the reader must discover such expansions independently. On the other hand the multiple indices (Latin concordance, general subjects, proper names) are excellent. In contrast to the core of the book on Roman culture, the beginning few chapters on chronological history are rushed and muddled with debates about whether the Gracchi were good or bad that may be lost on a new reader. The historical aspect of the book is good to provide context to the discussion of culture but someone primarily interested in, say, the dictatorship of Sulla would be disappointed by the abbreviated treatment.

The Joy of the World of Rome!

Most Roman reference books seem to present the information in a very muddling way. The World of Rome is a must-have for all those who want to learn about Rome in a progressive, easy to use way. The book is divided into sections on life, religion and is particularly helpful in understanding the poltical systems and leaders. The book covers the period from 1000Bc to 476Ad making it an essential item for the ancient historian who is looking for reference without wanting to spend hours looking through waffle.