The Shocking History of Ancient Rome's Most Wicked Rulers from Caligula to Nero and More
Ratings2
Average rating4
Enjoyable, breezy (in style, not subject matter haha) book about some atrocious Roman leaders. Caligula, Nero, and Commodus take up a lot of space in this discussion, rightfully so, so it was nice to get to hear more about some of the lesser known monsters. My only complaints are it was VERY brief for most of them, and that for some reason, the author occasionally told the story out of order. (For example, skipping Tiberius's reign/Sejanus's villainy and then circling back after Commodus's death to discuss Sejanus and Macro?)
If you just want to hear about some awful Romans, or if you want to participate meaningfully in the debate about who the worst is, this book is for you. - Commodus, obviously. Why is this even debated?