The fires of Vesuvius : Pompeii Lost and Found

I didn't read a non-fiction book in nearly a year. This was not the right book to re-exercise that muscle. The Fires of Vesuvius is dense. Dr. Beard is a highly respected academic classicist and although here she tries to write to a lay audience, it is certainly an academic book (exhibit 1: that graphics are sorted into illustrations, figures and plates. Illustrations and figures are set into the text and numbered consecutively, but independently from each other. There are two sections of pages dedicated to plates. Each of these images which is referenced and cross-referenced from various places inside the book. Overall, there are over 200. You will spend much time searching for the right image.)

But despite the density, I did find the book a very interesting exploration about what life was like in Pompeii. I had no pre-existing knowledge: I had never taken a classics class, never been to Pompeii (or Italy) and my only real understanding of this time-period is from reading the talmud. In that context, also, it was fascinating to compare Roman culture with Talmudic culture (freeing slaves on a regular basis: universal! Having a set, primarily written canon for a religion: super abnormal!) There was also a lot to explore here about how Roman elections work, what people did for fun, and a lot, a lot of epistemology. How much can we trust the veracity graffiti and murals? What about when that conflicts with what seems likely to us?