SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard

In SPQR, an instant classic, Mary Beard narrates the history of Rome "with passion and without technical jargon" and demonstrates how "a slightly shabby Iron Age village" rose to become the "undisputed hegemon of the Mediterranean" (Wall Street Journal). Hailed by critics as animating "the grand sweep and the intimate details that bring the distant past vividly to life" (Economist) in a way that makes "your hair stand on end" (Christian Science Monitor) and spanning nearly a thousand years of history, this "highly informative, highly readable" (Dallas Morning News) work examines not just how we think of ancient Rome but challenges the comfortable historical perspectives that have existed for centuries. With its nuanced attention to class, democratic struggles, and the lives of entire groups of people omitted from the historical narrative for centuries, SPQR will to shape our view of Roman history for decades to come.

Looong book. On the plus side, a lot of it reads like a novel. On the negative side, the organization is often confusing. The author poses a lot of interesting questions but never seems to clearly answer them. She also talks a lot about the people that are normally left out of history - women, slaves, etc, but then doesn't do much to add them here either.

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I struggled with this book. In the beginning, I could follow along. Eventually, I could not keep track of where I was in time and place. Obviously, still Rome..and long ago, but it got fuzzy. I am sure this is a failing on my part, but just a caution to other folks.

Despite getting lost, I enjoyed how the author brought old stories to life - adding depth to events or people that were barely footnotes in my world history education. I especially enjoyed how the author discusses the potential implications, and not, of the words of published speeches and how they may have related to the actual speeches as given and other events of the time. It would be all to easy to quote out of context if you only see the text..er, translated after hundreds of years of transcribing text...as most of us are like to do.

Probably a book that deserves a few separate reads over years or in time with other history texts for scaffolding. Read if you are interested in Rome.